The Remnant Knight
by Masseffect-TxS
Summary: There are many paths in life, some that are set in stone and some that are in a state of flux...then there are the ones that defy the course of fate. This is one such path, where the course of destiny is defied and the path of a Knight is forged in blood, steel, and magic. This is the Rise of the Remnant Knight.
1. Chapter I: Heroes Rise

RWBY: The Remnant Knight

There are many paths in life, some that are set in stone and some that are in a state of flux...then there are the ones that defy the course of fate. This is one such path, where the course of destiny is altered and the path of a Knight is forged in blood, steel and magic. This is the Rise of the Remnant Knight

 **This announcement is to let you know that as a thank you for being patient with me and allowing me to heal my heart. I have decided to gift you all, my fans, with a new chapter for Rising of an Arc, as well as two new Stories titled the Remnant Knight and Tales of the Wanderer – Revival**. **This story is an attempt for me to get over the Season III finale of RWBY. Breaks away from the cannon and enters into Alternate Universe, with some difference with Jaune and in Cinder and a completely alternate end to episode 12, because I really want Cinder to pay for what she did to Pyrrha.**

 **So without further a due here is the Remnant Knight - Chapter I.**

 **PS. I will continue my other RWBY stories because I have hope Pyrrha will return. PSS, this story was inspired by a Knights Final Fight by Jauneforever, go and check it out. P.s when you get to the end of the chapter, play the song 'Roundabout' by YES. The same song played at the end of JOJO's Bizarre Adventure.**

* * *

Chapter I: Heroes Rise...

* * *

Two figures emerged from the base of the tower as they rushed from the building, only stopping to catch their breaths. Luckily the streets were completely abandoned with nothing but the signs of destruction left in its wake, so they had time to register what just happened. Jaune was panting heavily as he fumbled in his pockets to find his scroll.

His mind desperately trying to unravel the mystery of what was happening around him, going back to not so long ago when he was just at the Stadium before everything went to hell.

Penny had been accidentally killed by his partner; giant hoards of Grimm were attacking the school - with some mysterious woman spreading hateful propaganda about the Atlas military and his own partner over the radio. Then the crazy shit happened with the Atlesian Knights turning on everyone, his partner being called into the basement under Beacon by Headmaster Ozpin - who showed them some mysterious woman in a pod - Jaune barely had time to register what was going on.

Before he could get any answers out of his partner, she was getting into a pod similar to the woman as Ozpin sealed her inside. He was then ordered to protect them while they did whatever it was Ozpin was doing. He obeyed right up till he heard his partner screaming, while her form was bathed in a strange orange light as he rushed to her pod. But before he could try and get her out, an arrow pierced the second pod as he saw the strange orange light fly out of the chamber and into this mysterious woman.

He tried to hold her off, but she simply batted him away with a simple wave of her hand and before Pyrrha could fight her, Ozpin stopped her ordered them to leave the vault and go to Vale to get help. The man was determined to hold back the strange woman who had managed to bring the Kingdom of Vale to its knee's. Now that they had returned to the surface, they needed to call for help.

"I think I have Glynda number in here somewhere...Oh, where is it?!" Jaune said as he searched his scroll for the teacher's number.

His mind and heart still racing from the events that had transpired in the secret vault hidden under the school, as he fumbled through the contacts list to find the teachers number. He then turned his head as he faced his partner whose face was full of distraught and conflict.

"Pyrrha? What was all that?" he said as the girl turned to face him, worry and uncertainty clearly etched on her face.

"I..."

Before she could even talk a loud sound came from the tower, as Jaune and Pyrrha look back inside to catch a glimpse of the strange woman as she propelled herself up the tower. Fear wrapped around their hearts as they saw the woman ascend to the top, and they knew one thing.

Ozpin had lost

"But...Ozpin he..." Jaune tried to say as he found his words stuck in his voice, as found the idea impossible of Ozpin losing. Pyrrha then spun around as she faced her partner.

"Jaune, you have to get out of here! Go to Vale and call for help!" Pyrrha said as Jaune stared at her confused.

"What? What are you going to -!" he stopped as he looked back up at the tower and the answer struck him like a bolt of lightning. "No! No! You can't be serious! Pyrrha you saw what she did to Ozpin, how powerful she is? There is no way you can-!"

"I have to Jaune! This is the only way and I'm the only one who can stand up to her." Jaune shook his head as he pointed at the tower.

"No, you can't! I won't allow it! You'll die if you go up there! There has to be another way!" he shouted as the girl shook her head defiantly.

"There is no other way! Please just leave!"

Jaune stared at her before he turned away and grabbed his head in frustration. His mind and his heart were racing, as he knew what his partner was planning to do. She was going to go up there, face whoever that woman was and get herself killed. She was always like this, thinking of others before herself. It was one of the traits he cherished the most about her. But Jaune just couldn't allow that to happen.

' _Damn it! I can't let her go through with this! I can't! There has to be another way? There has to be a-!'_ he stopped as he looked at a discarded locker near the tower. Having been stuck inside those things for the first half of Beacon by Cardin, he knew the things inside and out.

And that was when he knew what he had to do...

He sighed deeply as he turned around and faced her with a solemn look on his face.

"Alright I'll leave...but before I go...there is something I have to do, something I was going to do after the tournament. But then all this happened and...Well, there's no better time than the present right?" he said as Pyrrha walked closer to him.

"What is it Jaune?" she said as the boy sighed deeply, grabbed her by the shoulders and looking deeply into her dazzling green eyes one last time and kissed her passionately on the lips.

Time seemed to stop as her mind froze and her body became rigid before she leant into the kiss.

The many months and days that she had dreamed and desired for this kiss exploded in her chest, as they kissed amongst the ruins of Beacon. The world was silent for them as they held each other in a lovers embrace for the longest time, neither one wanting to let go and leave the other. But their lips soon parted as their foreheads rested on each other for support as they stared into each other's eyes.

It was then that Jaune leant his head into the nook of her neck as he whispered softly into her ear. But what came out of his mouth were not the words of love as she had fantasised for so long.

No, what came from his lips were words that would forever haunt her dreams...

"...I'm sorry..."

Before she could even comprehend his words, he grabbed her by the shoulders and threw her into the locker. Acting quickly he slammed the door shut as he sealed her inside. Her heart and mind went numb as she watched dumbly from the confines of the locker as he began to set the coordinates. Her mind then snapped out of its shock as she pressed herself against the door

"JAUNE! JAUNE! What the hell are you doing! Let me out!" she yelled and banged against the inside of the locker.

"Let's face it you would have done the same thing to me," he said as he opened the panel to set the coordinates. "This is the only way Pyrrha, I've been in these things hundreds of time and I've come out all right. Trust me you'll be safe," he said as the girl continued to bang on the door.

"Jaune! Jaune let me out! You can't do this! Please! Let me out!"

She screamed and yelled as she struck the door with her fists. Her hands glowing with a dark grey matter as she willed the doors to bend to her command, but they constantly denied her will to bend open. Jaune shook his head as he continued to program the locker.

"Your polarity won't affect them, I found out they're made of one of the few metals you can't manipulate. You can't get out until you've reached the city..." Jaune hung his head as he set the last co-ordinates. "You'll be safe this way," he said as a hollow look entered his eyes as the girl stared and slowly shook her head.

"Jaune don't do this! I am the only one that can face her! You'll die if you go up there!"

"And what makes you think you won't!" Jaune yelled back as she recoiled back in shock at his outburst. He breathed deeply as he rested his head against the locker and slowly looked up to face her.

"Pyrrha none of us has a chance against her, she's far too powerful for any of one to defeat. But if you can get out of here, make it back to the others, we might have a chance to beat her. But they can't do it without you," he said as she shook her head.

"No! Jaune they need you! Ren and Nora need you! They need you to lead them! They need you for-" she stopped as he slammed his fist into the door, her voice silent as he hung his head.

"...No, no they don't...they don't need me, they never needed me from the start. I was the one that needed them..." small tears brimmed at the edges of his eyes as he talked to her.

"You've always been there for me when I needed you. You picked me up when I fell, taught me how to fight and saved me more time than I can count. If it's anyone they need it's you...you're the reason we stick together."

His breath became ragged as he placed his hand in the locker. Pyrrha had tears streaking down her face as she listened to the boy's heart filled speech, the last one he would ever give as leader of Team JNPR.

"I'm nothing like you Pyrrha...I'm not a Huntsman like you, I'm not strong like you and I'll never be anything like you. I'm just some dumb kid that thought he could be something he's not..." he then looked up as he smiled sadly at the girl.

"But for some reason, you never saw that in me, and instead saw something else that I still can't see. And for that I will always be thankful," he said as he placed his hand on the door of the locker. Pyrrha mimicked him as their finger brushed against each other through the metal.

"Which is why I have to do this. Its suicidal and there's absolutely no chance I'll live through this, but I need to do this, as my only real act as leader of team JNPR...it's my job after all. A leader has to sacrifice himself for those he cares about and I care too much for you to let that happen." his voice shook as tears rolled down her face.

His hand slowly reached for the launch control as she shook her head in dismay. He smiled softly as a lone tear streaked down his face. "I'm sorry...I-I love you...and I always will," he said as he pressed the button and the rockets ignited, sending it and Pyrrha far away from the battle.

"JAUNE!" she screamed as she flew into the air as a thin trail of smoke was left behind her.

Now she was safe, he had thought to himself as he looked back up at the tower. He sighed as he attempted to steeled his nerves as he turned back to face what would be his final moments. As he walked inside, he took notice of all the destruction and chaos that been unleashed on the tower. The passageway to the stairs was sealed by debris and the elevators were all but destroyed, which left Jaune with only one option.

Climb

He moved his way to the large elevator shaft as the cables dangled from the top of the spire.

"This will take a while, at least until I can get to the stairs," he said to himself as he tried to calm his screaming nerves. Climbing on top of the elevator, he grabbed hold of the metal cables as he began his slow climb to the top of Ozpin's tower. He pulled himself up along the metal cable, as tried his best not to look down, fearing that if he did he would fall to his untimely death.

 _ **'She'll hate us for this...you know that right?'**_ a little voice in his head said as Jaune continued to climb the elevator shaft.

' _It's better this way, at least with her, they'll have a chance...'_ he tried to convince himself as he continued to climb up the metallic cables.

 **'** _ **We're going to die...you know that right?'**_

' _Yeah...but let's do our best nonetheless'_ Jaune said to himself as he continued to climb his way to the battle that would decide the fate of Vale.

All the while he never noticed his blade glow softly within its sheath, as ancient symbols and glyphs shimmered upon its steel before fading into the metal. He was finally able to reach a level where he could stop and rest before he would continue his climb.

* * *

Beacon Docks

* * *

Students and civilians were piling upon the evacuation shuttles, as Oobleck and Port tired their best to usher the frightened patrons onto the transports. "That's it! Everybody on board! This is a mandatory evacuation!" Port yelled out as he directed the students.

"A safe zone has been established in Vale. Please, remain calm and listen to the Atlas personal," Oobleck instructed as he too was directing the students onto the transports.

Fear and panic gripped at their hearts, as students and civilians tried their best to escape the hoard of Grimm. Atlas soldiers trying their best to hold them off, as the ships began to pile up with survivors as another was launched into the air to reach the safe zone in Vale. Weiss could only look around in disbelief as people were huddled together in large masses.

"Weiss!" a young voice cried out as she turned to see a familiar red wearing huntress running towards her, a small dog running beside her as he barks to the white dressed girl.

"Ruby!" she says as Ruby stopped in front of her partner. "Ruby where have you been? I've been trying to-!" Ruby cuts her off as she shakes her head.

"Don't worry about me, I'm fine! What is going on?" she said as Weiss opens her mouth to speak, but closes it shut as she lowers her gaze sadly.

"Weiss? What is it?" The girl only moves to the side, as silver eyes widened in both shock and horror.

Lying before her were her friends and her sister, all of them broken and beaten with Yang lying motionlessly on the floor - save for the small shallow breaths that filled her lungs. Her arm was missing and her complexion was pale as Blake lay beside her, gripping the blond's only hand as soft tears streaked down her face.

"Yang...I'm sorry," she said through tears and pain as she held on to her hand. "I'm so, so sorry" she repeated again and again as her tears mixed with the dirt on the ground.

Ruby could only look on in shock and horror as she knelt down to her sister, her eyes never tearing away from the bandaged stub that once was her sister's arm, as she placed her hand on her head.

"Yang..." she said as small tears began to gather in her eyes. Sun walked over to her as he placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Hey, they're going to be ok. The Atlas soldiers have a ship ready and are going to take you guys to Vale, you'll be safe there," he said as Ruby nodded solemnly.

"Wait! Jaune and Pyrrha are still missing!" Nora said as she tried to stand back up, only for her to fall back down due to her injury.

"What!" Ruby yelled in panic as she turned her head back to the school, the thought of Pyrrha and Jaune in danger brought fear and panic into her heart.

A loud roar resonated across the docks as people looked up in fear as the giant dragon circled the schools tallest tower, and continued to spawn and attract thousands of Grimm to its call. The beast latched onto the side of the tower as it released a mighty roar that sent fear into every heart in the area. Ruby looked back scared but soon had a face full of determination as she turned back to the other.

"I'm going to go find them!" she said as Sun grabbed her shoulder.

"Are you crazy! You can't go back there, it is suicide!" he said but Ren stood up and held his side.

"We are not leaving them!" Ren said before he fell to the ground, Nora quick to grab him as she held her dearest friend close to her. "They're our friends and we can't just leave them behind," he said through glaring eyes as Sun shook his head.

"Are you peopling insane! There are literally hundreds of Grim between them and us! We are low on ammunition and aura, and not to mention the giant Grimm that keeps circling the school! Even the White Fang are pulling out! We can't help them!" he tried to reason with them as they shook their heads in defiance.

"I'm not leaving my friends to die! Just take care of the others and I'll be back Sun!" Ruby turned to leave but was stopped by Weiss as she stood next to her.

"You mean _we_ aren't leaving them behind," she said as she drew her sword. "We are partners after all," she said as smiled to Ruby, who returned the smile in full. But just before Sun could try and talk some sense into them, Nora's scroll went off as she quickly opened it up to see Pyrrha's photo.

"Guys, It's Pyrrha!" she said as Ruby and Weiss snapped their heads to her as they ran over to the girl. Weiss quickly grabbed the scroll as she turned it on to the loudspeaker.

"Pyrrha it's Weiss! Where are you? Is Jaune with you? What's hap-"

"Weiss! Listen there is no time! I'm in Vale! Please, you have to stop him!" she said through scroll as her voice came out cracked and distorted as if she was running while talking.

"What? Stop Jaune, what are you talking about? How are you in Vale?"

"There's no time! Jaune's gone up to the tower to face that woman on the radio! He's going to get himself killed!" she yelled as the others gasped in shock.

"What! What is that dunce thinking?!" Weiss said as they turned back to the tower, as the thought of their friend in danger scared them to on end. Ruby's eyes were wide with fear as she turned back to the scroll.

"Pyrrha we'll find him, just get here as soon as you can!" Ruby said as Pyrrha nodded on the other end.

"Please hurry!" she said as she pressed the end button and continued to run through the streets of Vale. "Jaune you idiot! Don't you dare die on me!" she said as she pushed her aura to the limit as she sped through the desolate streets.

While back with the others Ruby turned back to Weiss as she nodded. "We have to go now!" she said as both of them dashed towards the tower. Sun tried to stop them, but they slipped right past him as they rushed towards the hoard of Grimm, while he silently cursed to himself.

"Damn it! Just get back here in one piece!" he yelled out to them as they soon disappeared into the school. "Idiots..." he said solemnly as he looked up at the dark sky that grew darker with each second as a strange feeling swept into his chest, as though he felt that something terrible was going to happen.

The sad thing was...he was right

* * *

Beacon Tower, Ozpin's Office

* * *

Cinder strolled across the room with a hint of arrogance in every step as she stood in the headmaster's office, her heels clicking upon the floor, as the great metal gears of the clockwork above echoed in the room silently. She gazed out the window as three beady red eyes stared back at her, the dragon making a loud roar before the woman smirked and held out her hand to the creature.

"Shh~ this is your home now," she said with a soft voice that betrayed her confident and wicked face.

The creature just stared at the woman as she lit a bright flame in the palm of her hands as if to signal the beast of something more sinister going on. Suddenly a sword punched the middle of the wooden doors, as the old wood was forced open and a stranger walked in. At first, Cinder assumed it was the Nikos girl, who had decided to come up to the top of the tower to fight her and prepared to summon her glass weaponry. But she stopped as she saw the last person she ever expected to see at the top of the tower.

Jaune Arc, Pyrrha Nikos' partner and the weakest Hunter at Beacon Academy.

Jaune glared as he placed his shield on his arm and drew his sword as he pointed the blade at the woman.

"Surrender now, and no one has to get hurt," he said even as his body trembled in fear of the woman.

Cinder started for the briefest of moments before she began to chuckle hauntingly in the large office. Her chuckles soon turned into full-blown laughter, as her sinister-voiced echoed throughout the ancient gears and clockworks of the tower.

"This is a joke, right? Did they really send you to face me? Are they so desperate that they turn to a useless child to defeat me?" she broke out into laughter again as Jaune glared at the woman.

' _That voice, I recognise that voice...it's the same one from the broadcast...she's the one that made Pyrrha kill Penny...'_ he thought angrily as he tightened his grip on his blade. ' _She's the one who messed with my friends!'_

"You aren't even a threat? You can't even hold your shield properly, let alone fight me without your partner to defend you" she said as she gestured to his awkward stance and his trembling legs.

"At least with the champion she would have made a better challenge, not that it wouldn't matter in the end. She would die either way," she said as she flipped her hair nonchalantly as if she didn't even consider him. "And you think you can take me on?" she chuckled as she walked around the room. The dragon's three beady eyes following her as she circled the boy.

"Your own headmaster couldn't defeat me, and he now lies at the bottom of this tower, clinging to what little life he has that remains because I allow it." She stopped and stood in front of the boy.

"If Ozpin could not defeat me...what hope do you have?"

Just as she said that a huge weight was dropped in his stomach as a dreadful feeling crawled up his chest. His very soul was screaming at him to turn tail and run - because he had no doubt that she could destroy him in an instant.

But for some reason, while his mind told him to run, his heart was telling him to stand up and fight. Telling him that if he just ran away from her, she would kill everyone close to him. The mere thought of one of his friends dying by this woman's hand sparked a fire in his soul. He gripped his sword tighter as his hair shadowed his eyes while the woman eyed him curiously.

"You're right, I don't stand a chance against you...but I don't care about that, I don't even care if I die up here because none of that matters to me..." he then looked up as Cinder raised an eyebrow as he glared into her flaming orange eyes.

"All that matters to me is that I won't allow you to harm any of my friends! That is a promise!" he brought his shield up and readied his sword for anything that she would throw at him.

Cinder stared for a brief moment as she stared at the boy that would stand so defiantly at her. It was one of the few times she had ever seen someone, who knew he was going to die against her, still stand their ground and defy her. She smirked as she raised her hand.

"Well then..." she said as a ball of fire ignited in her palm.

"Let's see what you can do...Foolish Knight!" she yelled as she flung the ball of fire at the boy.

Jaune raised his shield as he managed to block the ball of fire, but was pushed back from the force of the blast. He stumbled back as he shook himself from the shock, just as a glass arrow whizzed past his head and struck the wall behind him. He looked back to see that Cinder had summoned a bow made of glass and shot three more arrows towards the boy.

He barely managed to roll out of the way, as they struck the ground with such ferocity and power that the arrows went half way through the floor. He looked at the glass arrows in shock before he saw her summon two more and fired them at him. He barely had enough time to raise his shield as one arrow struck against the shield, reducing it to fragments of glass, while the second arrow sliced past his left leg leaving a deep cut with blood sputtering from the wound.

Jaune cried out in pain at the searing heat from the glass arrow burnt the cut on his leg as he limped back slightly from the woman who smirked at his pained face.

He growled as he charged at her, sword raised high as he swiped at the woman, only for her to easily sidestep his swing and summon a simple blade made of glass. She deflected his blade with ease as she simply continued to evade or block his attacks.

It was clear to any skilled warrior that she was simply playing with the boy, seeing as she made no attempt to attack him. Jaune especially knew since he spent so much time training with Pyrrha that he could tell when someone was holding back.

She didn't even see him as a threat...

"Such a pitiful display," she said as Jaune swiped left and right as she simply evaded his attacks by moving her head out of the way of each strike. "I expected a little more from the 'Champions' favourite plaything," she said as Jaune growled at her.

"But clearly you have no real potential to be a huntsman..." she evaded as he jabbed his blade towards her head, to which she responded by slicing her glass blade across his right shoulder and severed the leather strap to his chest plate.

"Argh!" Jaune cried as blood sputtered from the gash as he was forced to jump back from the woman and grasped his shoulder. He breathed in pain-filled breaths as blood slowly leaked from his shoulder and dampened his now bloodstained shirt as the pain coursed its way through his body.

"I don't even have to use the Fall Maiden's powers against you, which is a shame because I so wanted to test them out on that wannabe candidate Ozpin had chosen." She smirked as she dissolved the glass sword into specks of dust. She placed her hand under her chin and rested it on her other arm as she smirked at the boy.

"Maybe after I've finished killing you, I'll pay her a visit and show her your corpse...before I make her join you in the afterlife..." Jaune growled in anger as he glared at the woman.

"You stay the hell away from her! I'm not going to let a monster like you take her away from me!" he yelled as the woman narrowed her eyes and raised her right hand.

"Now that's rude..." she said as glass formed around her hand as a black object shot from her palm and a pure black dagger impaled his left shoulder.

He screamed in pain as the dagger dug into his flesh, blood sputtering from the wound as he cried out in anguish. "Calling a young maiden like myself a monster, didn't your parents teach you any manners?" she said as Jaune gasped and grunted in pain at the dagger protruding from his shoulder.

The leather strap - like its brethren - was severed easily as the metal plate dropped from his chest causing more blood to spread and dampen his shirt. His breathing became heavier with each breath and his heart beat faster in his chest. A feeling of utter fear and despair clawed at the edges of his heart as she smirked tauntingly at him.

This woman before him was like nothing he had ever faced before, not even the Ursa in the Forever Falls Forest had brought out this much fear in him. He knew right then and there that he was going to die. He was going to die by this woman's hand and he barely made a scratch on her? His sacrifice would have stopped nothing and she would be free to do anything she wanted...

He had sacrificed himself for nothing.

' _Damn it...I'm going to die aren't I?'_ his arms felt like lead as he tried desperately to stay on his own two feet. His aura working overtime to stop him from bleeding to death, but since he had a lack of control over his aura, it proved to be more difficult than anything else.

' _But I...I can't die now, not while this bitch is still alive!'_ he screamed to himself as he struggled to raise his shield and glare at the overconfident woman. _'And I won't let her hurt any of my friends! Especially Pyrrha! I'd rather die than let that happen to her!'_ his shield was raised to eye level as the Arc symbol shone in the pale moonlight.

' _And that's a promise!'_

The Grimm Dragon, who had been watching since the beginning of the battle, had grown increasingly bored with the poor display from the young knight and opted to leave the tower to spread more Grimm throughout Vale. But it stopped as the boy seemed to glare with a bright fire in his eyes and his shield rose high to defend him. Whether it was an act of God himself or pure dumb luck, a stray strand of moonlight broke free from the dark clouds and shone itself upon the shield.

The light illuminating the two golden crests upon the surface as the beast's three eyes widened at the symbol.

Images of a man and woman with blond hair and dark blue eyes glared back at him from behind the boy, as a crescent symbols smeared with blood burned itself into its brain. The Dragon released a huge roar, as the tower itself seemed to shake from the sound.

* * *

The people at the docks covered their ears as the noise reached far into the city as a certain redhead looked up in fear at the tower as she continued to run to the docks. "My word! What is that!" Port yelled as he stood his ground despite the loud roar that threatened to burst his eardrums.

"I have no idea! I've never heard anything like it!" Oobleck shouted as he looked up to the tower to see the beast roaring in pure rage, something he had never seen a Grimm do in his entire life.

"What the hell is going on?" Sun yelled as and the others covered theirs, the Faunus students, as their ears were highly sensitive, nearly bled from the strain.

Ruby and Weiss who had taken refuge in a dome of Ice to defend against the overwhelming hoard held their ears as the loud roar shook the ground on which they stood on. "What is going on!?" Ruby yelled as she held her ears in pain from the loud noise.

"I don't know!" Weiss yelled as they hide in the frozen dome of her dust. "But whatever is, it sounds very angry!" she yelled as she too held her ears in pain.

* * *

Cinder and Jaune grabbed their ears in pain as the beast roared loudly in the tower. Pure rage burned in the dragon's eyes as the beast roared into the night sky so loudly that Jaune's ears nearly burst as Cinder turned to glare at the beast.

"Silence beast!" she roared to the beast as she raised her hand in order to calm the creature, but it ignored her and continued to roar into the sky. "You will obey me!" she screamed as the beast only roared in anger.

' _What's going on? Why is the dragon acting this way? What's caused it to go berserk?'_ she stopped as she glanced back to the boy as he had his hands on his head and was kneeling before her.

' _Was it...the boy?'_

She then felt a powerful presence behind her as she turned back just in time to see the giant dragon reel back its massive jaw and bite into the tower. The jaws crashing against the tower as gears, rubble and steel rained down upon them as Cinder expertly dodged the debris, while Jaune barely made it to safety. A small black object fell from her hip but paid no mind to it as a large dust cloud blanketed the room.

When the dust cleared, the tower now sported a huge hole in the side of the building, but not enough to make the top half of the tower fall - Which meant that the CCT network was still up and running. But for how much longer it would remain that way was the real question. Cinder growled in anger as she marched towards the dragon and summoned another ball of flames in her hand, the light from the burning orb soon mesmerised the Beast as she smirked at Dragon.

"Behave, creature, you will obey me 'She' commands you," she said as the Dragon slowly started calmed down. But it would require all her concentration to keep the beast tamed.

Jaune took this chance to hide behind a largely fallen gear as he quietly ripped pieces of cloth off his shirt to bandage his wounds. His hands trembled as he began to wrap the cloth tightly around his leg, with one quick breath he pulled and held in a scream that threatened to reveal his location.

' _Argh! Damn that hurts!'_ he wrapped another cloth around his shoulder as he once again held back a scream. After he was done patching up his wounds he peeked his head from the side of the gear as he watched the strange woman attempt to calm the massive beast.

' _What the heck happened with the dragon? Why did it suddenly go berserk?'_ he narrowed his eyes as he watched the woman continue to show the ball of fire to the Dragon, which seemed to be able to calm the beast down.

' _And why the hell is she able to control the Grimm? Did she get that ability from whatever the hell she stole in the Vault? Or did she already have that ability?'_ he quickly hid behind the gear as he coughed violently in his hand.

Small amounts of blood that covered his palm, as the rest leaked onto the ground. He looked down to see how badly beat up he was, as most of his armour had been destroyed or simply gone since he came up to the tower. His body was covered in dust and dried blood, with more blood still leaking from his wounds as every muscle in his body ached from the pain.

' _Oh shit...I'm going to die up here...that sucks...'_ he looked at his hand, blood covered the entire surface of his palm as he felt a small tear form at the corner of his eye.

He knew that his chances of survival were slim and that there was no way anyone would make it here in time to save him. But deep down he still hoped that someone would come bounding up the tower, save him from this murderous woman and slay the massive Grimm that threatened the lives of his friends...

But stuff like that only happened in movies and fairy tales, because the reality of it was that life was just cruel and unforgiving. There were no heroes that came and saved the day, there were no happy ever after's for Knights in shining armours...

There was just living to see the next day. And he wouldn't get to see it.

Jaune sighed as he rested his head against the gear and let the tear flow down his cheek.

"Shit...really wish I had a girlfriend before I died...oh well, maybe in the next life," he said as he struggled to stand but fell back on his butt, as he grunted in pain.

Before he could resign himself to his fate, his eyes were drawn over to a small black object to the right of him, as the small rectangle reflected a fraction of the moon onto his face.

Curious, he reached over as he grabbed the small black object as he held it in his hands. The small device was similar to a scroll but was painted black with a hollow like heart stamped on the back. Opening the scroll, his eyes widened as he saw multiple strings of codes and plans that were stolen from the Atlesian Military. His eyes were then drawn over to a list of names with the word 'potential threat' to them, as his partner's face was at the foremost of the list as he felt an extreme amount of rage surface inside him.

"She...she was watching her from the start? She was going to...to...argh!" he growled as he gripped the scroll tightly within his palms. His sword glowed briefly before disappearing just a suddenly as it came, not that the boy had time to witness it.

Before he could throw away the scroll in anger, his eyes were drawn to one symbol on the scroll as he narrowed his eyes and pressed it. The screen lit up as his eyes widened in shock before a plan came swirling into his mind. He turned his head back to Cinder as he set himself a determined face and ripped off one last piece of cloth off his shirt to get ready to initiate his plan.

Cinder smirked as the beast was finally calm enough to listen to her command. The ancient beast resting on the side of the tower as she turned back to find the little knight, that dared to stand in her way.

"Little knight~? Where are you~?" she called out mockingly to the boy as she played with a ball of fire. "Oh come now, don't tell me this is all Ozpin's little failure has?" she mocked as she looked around the room.

"Not yet..."

Jaune walked out from behind the gear as he stood before her. The black cloth wrapped around his shoulders and leg as he glared at the woman. His shield in his left and his sword in his right as he hung them loosely in his hands. She chuckled slightly as she turned to meet the boy's fierce gaze, a bright blue flame burning in his eyes, as opposed to her burning orange.

"I've still got some fight left," she chuckled at him as she placed a hand over her lips.

"You are very brave, I will give you that child..." she summoned two new swords as she smirked at the boy. "But not very bright, are you?" she asked as Jaune shrugged his shoulder, aching slightly in pain.

"Yeah I get that a lot..." he then looked back as he breathed a heavy breath. "Listen, we both know how this will end, there is no escaping that...so before you kill me, can you at least indulge me in something?" he asked as the woman raised an eyebrow.

"And what would that be?"

"How did you do it? How did you manage to launch a major attack on the Kingdom? And why were you targeting my friends?" he asked as the woman looked at the boy strangely.

"And why would I tell you that?" she asked as Jaune smiled lightly at the fiery maiden.

"We both know I'm not going to live long enough to tell anyone, we're all alone up here and we both know that no matter what I try, It won't change my fate. So, would you at least indulge a dying man's final wish?" the dragon growled behind her, as it was ready to attack. But she held up her hand as she smirked coyly at the boy.

"I see no reason why I can't indulge you. Honestly, you remind me of a small animal that's barely clinging to what little life it has left. How can I say no to that?" Jaune felt his anger rise up, but slowly pushed it back down.

"Alright, first question, how did you get the Grimm to obey you?" he asked as the woman sauntered around him.

"Let's just say I know a very powerful...'person', who can control the Grimm and bend them to my will" Jaune turned his head at this as his eyes widened.

"Control? You mean someone is actually controlling these things to attack us?" he pointed at the large dragon, that released a small growl in its throat. She waved her hand as the creature was silenced and she placed a finger on her lips.

"Spoilers..." she said as she placed one hand on the massive dragon's snout. The beast seemed to lean into her touch as Jaune glared at the pair.

"Ok, that explains why the Grimm are listening to you. But how did you manage to get them to attack in the first place? Pyrrha told me that they're only drawn in by negative emotions, how did you manage to do that?" he asked as the woman smirked at the boy.

"It wasn't easy, I can assure you of that. I _really_ had to work at it, most of it actually involved your friends actually." Jaune glared at her as he tried to hold in his anger.

"What?"

"Yes, see we had to make the people of Vale feel fear and anger to draw the Grimm in. The only way to do that was to make the people doubt their protectors. Miss Xiao Long was one such example, poor girl, didn't even realise it until it was too late..." she grinned as Jaune's eyes widened but then narrowed dangerously as he glared at her.

"You...you manipulated Yang? How!" Cinder smirked as she played with a small strand of her hair.

"The brawler was easy to manipulate, we made her see something that wasn't really there and she attacked that poor boy Mercury like the mindless party girl that she was," she mocked slightly as Jaune growled in anger.

"But how? How did you make her attack him?"

"You can thank an associate of mine who - let's just say - has a unique ability to cast anyone she sees into an illusionary state. We simply had her cast the girl under an illusion and made her attack Mercury and framed her for 'harming a defenceless student'. And the crowd just ate it up," Cinder said mockingly as Jaune stared in complete shock.

"Wait, Mercury was working with you? Bu-But how? We saw his legs break and we all saw the blood. H-How could do that to your friend, to have him break his own legs?!" she shook her finger as she chuckled hauntingly.

"First: He's not my friend, merely a pawn in a much larger game. Second: She couldn't break what he never had in the first place. Thanks to another associate of mine that is very good with illusions that could fool just about anyone." Jaune's eyes widened as a thought came to his mind.

"...Prosthetics...he has prosthetic legs...he was never even injured in the first place was he?" a shocking realisation came to him as his eyes widened even further. "Then that means that it was Emerald who made Yang attack him...just like Pyrrha. You did the same thing to Pyrrha, didn't you? You made her see something in her match against Penny! You made her kill Penny! Didn't you!?" She clapped her hands and chuckled at the boy.

"Clever boy, getting it right on the first try. Guess you're not as idiotic as you seem to be?" Jaune glared but reframed himself from attacking her, knowing that would lead to an early death. He breathed in a huge breath as he managed to calm his beating heart down.

"Ok...that explains my friends and the Grimm. But what about the White Fang? How did you manage to convince them to join, I highly doubt they would've joined forces with someone like you willingly," she nodded slightly as she paced the tower

"Well, yes it was a bit of a task to convince the White Fang to assist us in attacking an entire Kingdom. But luckily its leader is just as bull-headed as his species," she said mockingly as chuckled at her own joke. "All I did was show them a display of power, gave them funds, dust and motivation to wage a small war and they come flooding like rats over a piece of bread," she then chuckled darkly as she held her chin.

"They never even considered the possibility that I would use them as a scapegoat while I complete my true goal," she then laughed loudly as she held her chin high.

"They honestly believed that they'll 'strike a crippling blow against humanity' with this stupid invasion. When in reality they'll just end up being hunted down like animals and sent to the slaughter. It helps that Adam is as stupid as he is devoted to his brethren. All of that allowed me to accomplish my true goal," she laughed as Jaune continued to glare at the overconfident woman. But unknown to her, a small smirk twitched at the end of his lips, before he settled back to a glare as Cinder looked at the boy.

"And what was your true goal?" The woman smirked as she held up her hand and summoned a small ball of fire.

"To retrieve the power of the Fall Maiden and usher in the Age of Grimm"

Jaune stared at the orb of fire as he cast his gaze out to the burning city and the roar of beasts and screams of innocence that echoed in the night. He felt a nauseous feeling in his stomach as he turned back to face the empowered woman and her hauntingly smug grin.

"All this death, all this destruction and deception? It was...it was just some ploy to steal _that_?!" he said as he pointed at her powers, as it radiated off her form.

"Part of it, but then...you'll never know how the rest of the story plays out. Besides..." she said as she summoned a sword of glass in her hands. "I've indulged you long enough...its time for you to die," she said as Jaune raised his hand.

"One last question, my final one I swear..." she raised an eyebrow at his request but allowed him to speak out of pure curiosity.

"Do you...do you honestly think you'll get away with any of this? My friends will find out the truth, and they will find out. And when they do, they will hunt you down and they will make you pay for what you've done," he told her as she shook her head.

"You poor naive little boy, how would they ever find out? No one will ever know what really transpired here today and they will never know the truth. The whole world will be too busy blaming the White Fang for this attack, that they'll never think to look for the true mastermind behind this invasion. The Kingdom's will become divided; the White Fang will be hunted like animals and the Huntsman that was charged with protecting this world? They will be seen as worthless relics of a bygone age..." she chuckled hauntingly as she smirked at the boy.

"And the best part of it all. Is that with this amazing power that I have acquired. No one will be able to stand in my way. They will fall like so many that have come before them. They will cower in fear as the Grimm take what is rightfully theirs and return this world to the darkness from which it came from," she said dramatically as she held a hand out to Jaune.

"And no one will know the truth...because you'll be dead, and will rule everything," she said mockingly as she relished in the victory that was now hers.

Until she heard a laughter echo in the air, as she slowly stopped to see Jaune, laughing as he held his head up to the sky and laughed loudly as well. He continued to laugh as he shook his head and chuckled at her confused face.

"What do you find so funny?" she narrowed her eyes as the boy only shook his head while chuckling.

"Nothing, nothing, it's just...you are so full of yourself aren't you?" he placed a hand over his eyes and chuckled. "You'd think that with all this 'amazing power' you've acquired, you'd have noticed what was going on right in front of you," he laughed loudly as she began to snarl and grew ever more angry with him.

"What? What was going on in front of me!?" Jaune grinned widely as he pointed to his left and she followed his hand as her gaze shifted to his left. Her eyes widened in shock as Jaune grinned widely at her stunned face.

"What did you say before? That no one would ever know the truth? Heh...well then..." she slowly turned back to him as he grinned and said.

"Smile for the camera bitch"

Far from the pair, tied to a fallen gear and wrapped with a single piece of black cloth was Cinders scroll. And on that scroll was a little red light that blinked on and off occasionally as the word broadcast light plainly on the screen as the reflection of her shocked face stared straight back at her, as Jaune grinned at her stunned face.

* * *

All around the world, people stared screen in shock, as the truth was revealed before them. That all this death, pain and suffering was orchestrated by one woman. The three other Kingdoms began scrambling to find any information on this woman, while Atlas was ordering a second fleet to depart for Vale immediately to apprehend this woman.

The Citizens of Vale, however, were shocked and horrified to hear that this woman had used their own fears against them and summoned this hoard to destroy them.

The White Fang was the most shocked as their leader Adam gripped his sword tightly and glared at the image of the woman who had promised to help him strike a blow for all Faunus kind. But was now revealed to only use them as a scapegoat to evade the eyes of the world. He growled and slammed his fist into the monitor, cracking the screen, as he swore bloody vengeance against the one who betrayed him.

Emerald and Mercury shared with each other concerned looks as they had just been publicly outed over the entire CCT Network. People around them started to glance at them curiously, as some of the Atlas soldiers began to draw closer to the pair. Seeing no other choice left to them, they fled, as they now became wanted criminals of the entire world.

All thanks to Cinder and her over inflated ego.

* * *

While in the streets of Vale the trio of Qrow, Glynda and Ironwood stared in shock as they looked at each other as they stared up at the monitor. Glynda and Ironwood shared a concerned glance between each other while Qrow narrowed his eyes at the woman and smirked at the stunned look on his face.

The students of Beacon were just as stunned and confused as they muttered amongst themselves and were horrified to learn that they were purposely targeted for this attack.

Yang, having just regained consciousness, stared at the screen on her scroll in pure anger as she glared at the woman who tricked her into summoning the Grimm to Vale. She lost an arm because of this woman, and she was going to make her pay. But at the same time, she worried about was Jaune, as he continued to bleed at the top of the tower. A sick feeling in her stomach told her something bad was going to happen.

And she was usually right about it.

Blake too was seething in anger at the woman as she memorised her face so that she could hunt down this woman who would dare to harm her friends and frame her people for this atrocity. She also feared for Jaune's life as she could only guess what someone like Cinder would do in this situation.

And it never ended well

Ruby and Weiss, from the shelter of the ice dome, looked in shock and horror as they realised that this woman had deceived them all. They shared a worried glance between themselves as the looked at their friend who revealed the truth.

Ren and Nora both stared in shock at the condition of their friend as the watched him struggle to stand on his own two feet and stood confidently in front of the insane woman. But felt a small amount of pride seeing their leader stand tall against this woman who dared to tear their team apart. But could do nothing as the lay on the ground weak and broken...

It was terrifying for them.

Pyrrha could only look on in horror at the large monitor, as small tears gather in her eyes at the sight of her partner and crush. He was bleeding and shaking like a leaf in the wind as he barely able to keep himself together against the powerful woman. But the look in his eyes brought her a sense of dread as she could see the signs of him accepting his fate...

He was going to die.

With little time left, she sped towards the docks as she quickly boarded the return shuttle to Beacon, hoping and praying that she would make it back in time to save the only one she would ever love in this life or the next...

* * *

Cinder gazed at the small blinking light and the image of herself that was now plastered on every screen in the world as she stared dumbly at the little scroll. She had been tricked, goaded and deceived into revealing all of her dirty dealings and heinous crimes. And now they knew her face, as well as the names of her co-conspirators who assisted her in the deception and lies...

All because she grew overconfident with her victory, lost sight of her goal and underestimated this one boy from a village in the countryside. Jaune chuckled again as he looked at the woman who for the first time this night, looked completely shocked and baffled at how she was decided by someone like him.

"How does it feel? Being deceived for once? Sucks don't it? Being outsmarted by someone and used to fulfil their own agenda. It must really grind your nerves huh?" he said as he chuckled at her.

"Now you know how we felt when you turned us against each other and tricked us into doing your dirty deed. Well, here's a taste of your own medicine...hope you choke on it" Jaune spat as coughed a small amount of blood from his lips.

"The sad thing is...I'm still going to die up here, but I've accepted that. At least, this way the world knows the truth now and when I die, they'll be coming after you in full force." Jaune grinned as Cinders body shook in pure rage as her hand gripped tightly around her blade, all while her eyes glowed a sickly yellow light.

"Heh, what do you know...I actually did something right for one–Argh!" he was stopped mid-sentence, as the sound of torn flesh echoed in the night.

Around the world, people looked on in shock and horror as Cinder sped towards the boy at blinding speeds and slashed him across his chest. The blade slicing from his left collarbone to the right of his waist as blood erupted from his chest with barely the chance to scream in pain before she slashed at his chest again. This time striking horizontally across his chest and crossing the previous cut.

Weiss had to hold in her stomach as she sliced through the boy's shirt. While Ruby shrieked with small tears in her eyes as she fell to her knees and watched as this woman butchered her first friend. The scroll dropping to the floor as complete and utter horror on her face.

"You think you've changed anything!" she yelled as she slashed at him again, barely able to bring up his shield as she slashed at his left bicep, causing him to scream and drop his shield.

Yang and Blake instantly gasped in shock, as they watched the deep cut form on his left arm as Yang instantly grabbing her stump. She feared for the boy's life, while Blake could only stare back in shock at the brutality of the enraged woman.

"You think you've outsmarted me! You think you've beaten me!" she slashed at his right leg as a deep cut formed in his thigh, blood sputtering out in a fountain of red as the boy's screams echoed on the top of the tower.

Ren and Nora had horrified face as she Nora clung to his chest as he tried his best to turn her away from the scroll. But failed as they both continued to watch as their leader and friend was subjected to horrendous attacks.

"You haven't beaten me! You haven't changed anything!" She screamed as she slashed at his face, only able to glance off his cheek as she caused a large cut on his cheek.

The three teachers looking on in shock quickly snapped back to their senses as Glynda turned to Qrow and ordered him to run. The man, however, had already dashed towards the tower as Ironwood and Glynda desperately tried followed behind him as they raced towards the horrifying battle.

"All you've done is delayed the inevitable!" she screamed as she blasted him in the chest and flung him to the wall as he gasped in pain.

The other students of Beacon and visiting students cried out in shock as Sun cringed at the scene while Neptune to hold in his stomach contents but failed. Coco was so horrified that she didn't even care that she dropped her favourite pair of sunglasses while Velvet could only quiver in fear. Cardin was terrified as he watched the boy he once bullied be subjected to the pain that he hoped that he would never have to experience.

It made him feel regret and fear for all the stuff he had done in the past, as he prayed that would never happen to him.

"And hastened your own death!" with that might yell she charged and plunged her blade straight through his stomach.

Everything became silent as the world watched on in horror at the blade plunged deeply into the boy's stomach.

Yang and Blake cried out in horror as Sun and Neptune could only gasp in terror, even Oobleck and Port could not stand the sight of the young man impaled and turned their heads. Weiss shrieked in horror as they watched blood gush forth from the boy's chest, while Ruby silently muttered to herself that none of it could be real only for Weiss to confirm it was real as she grasped the girls shoulder for support.

Ren recoiled in horror as Nora burst into tears and held him close. The boy could only hold her close as she wept upon his shirt, tears streaming down her cheeks as he held her in his embrace and glared at the woman on the screen, silently vowing vengeance for what she had done to their friend.

Pyrrha just stared numbly at the screen, as Cinder plunged her blade into his chest. The sight of all that blood became too much for the girl as she fell to her knees and she screamed his name. A cold feeling of dread and despair crawled its way at the corners of her heart as for the first time in her entire life, she felt absolutely useless.

Jaune gasped and choked on his own blood as he feebly attempted to grab the blade that was now plunged into his stomach. But his hand dropped each time he tried to grasp the blade as Cinder gave him a snarling grin and pushed the blade further into his stomach.

"I'll admit, I underestimated you, boy. Clearly, you were more of a threat then I anticipated. But the game is at its end, and there's no more room on the board for a troublesome piece like you!" she grasped the blade and pushed it in further causing him to screamed in agony.

"But I'm not going to kill you that quickly, no far from it. I'm going to make you suffer for what you've done...I'm going to make your final moments the most agonising experience of your life. By taking it nice and slowly..." she said with each push as the blade went further into the wall as he continued to gasp in pain.

"Until I decided when you can die..."

He cringed and gasped as the blade continued its way through his flesh. Small tears brimmed in his eyes as the sword slowly cut through his stomach and barely missed his spine. But at the same time, all he could think to himself was how he had gotten himself here in the first place.

' _Shit...I guess my parents were right about me...I should have never gone to Beacon in the first place...'_

His eyes became heavier as black dots began to crawl at the edges of his vision.

' _I guess this is it huh? ...What a pathetic way to die huh? ...Grandpa would be so disappointed at me...for giving up like this...'_

His vision continued to fade as he drifted in and out of consciousness.

' _Sorry everyone...but...I screwed up...'_

His eyes closed and his vision was consumed by the black as the pain slowly subsided and he fell into unconsciousness.

* * *

A sea of darkness met him as he felt himself slowly drift within the murky waters of emptiness, as the void quickly surrounded him. He felt no pain or strife as he slowly submerged himself into the waters and drift amongst the sea of no return...

"...Jaune...Jaune...Wake up already you damn brat!"

Jaune snapped open his eyes wide to find that he was no longer at the top of the tower. But instead at the cliffs of his hometown, as an old man stood at the edge of the cliff with his back turned to him.

The man was adorned in silver armour with a long blue cape that billowed softly in the wind as he stood before a setting sun. Upon his back was a large broadsword with the Arc symbol branded on its hilt. His hair was almost completely light blond with traces of silver mixed into mass, symbolising his advanced age, but still young enough to carry a sword and fight against the monsters of Grimm.

He knew who this man was; it was his grandfather Cornelius Arc. The reason he wanted to become a huntsman in the first place.

"Grandpa? What are you, how are you here?" ha asked as he was greatly confused at this situation. The man before him couldn't be real because his grandfather died on a mission ten years ago. So he figured that he was in a memory. One memory in his mind that drove him to leave his home and follow his dream of becoming a Hero.

But something was...different?

"What are you doing kid?" the man said as Jaune looked up confused. "Are you just going to let her kill you like that? Where is your pride as an Arc? Get up and fight back!" Jaune shook himself of his stupor as he hung his head in shame.

"I-I'm sorry, but I can't Grandpa. She's too strong for me. How am I suppose to beat that?! I-I can't do anything right! I got her to reveal her plans, but she's just going to kill me anyway! I...I can't do anything..." he said as he fell to his knees and clenched his fists in anger.

"I'm sorry, but I'm not strong enough!" The old man said nothing before he sighed and scratched the back of his head.

"Yeah you've got a point kid, I doubt I could even beat her at this point?" the old man said as he looked up to the sky.

"But do you want to know something?" Jaune looked up as the man turned to him.

"The truth is that there will always be people who are stronger than us or faster than us and it will make us doubt ourselves...But that doesn't mean we give up. If we gave up on every fight that turned bad against us, we'd never have crawled out of the dust in the first place," he then placed a hand on his shoulder as he smiled at the boy.

"Our strength comes from defying the odds and making the world see that we are not as weak as they think we are. And our family has been living up to that ideal for countless generations...right up to you Jaune," he said as the boy stared in shock.

"There is something I never got to tell when I was alive, but now is a better time the ever I guess. Life isn't worth living unless you have something to fight for. Do you have something worth fighting for?" he asked as Jaune looked down and thought of all the people in his life.

Ruby, Weiss, Yang, Blake, Ren, Nora, the teachers and the students of Beacon appeared before him. Before his mother and father and all of his sisters piled into his memory as each and every face passed him by. But one face stood out the most as her long red hair waved in the wind and her soft emerald eyes smiled back at him.

Jaune then looked up as he looked into his grandfather's eyes as a small voice escaped his lips "...Pyrrha..." the old man smiled as he patted the boy on the shoulder.

"Ata boy Jaune, and because you have that, that woman won't stand a chance...now," he stood up and placed his hands on his waist. "Looks like you got yourself in a sticky situation here, huh kid? A trait I think every Arc has up to this point huh?" Jaune chuckled slightly at this.

"So..." he placed a hand on his chin as he put himself in deep concentration. "You're going to need something that will give you a quick boost and 'maybe' turn the tide of this battle. Not to mention 'that' will activate on its own, but it won't be enough...guess I have no choice then, huh?" he looked down at the boy as he placed a hand on his chest.

"Jaune...I'm going have to activate your Semblance"

Jaune's eyes widened as the man's hand began to glow and his chest was basked in a heavenly glowing light. Behind him, the image of a large Knight began to appear as it crossed its arms and shone a powerful yellow light from its eyes. Jaune looked back at his grandfather as the world was soon basked in the light between the two of them.

"But...why are you helping me? Why now?" The old man hung his head as a small smile played on his lips, not that of a cocky grin but one of sincerity and sorrow.

"Because you've changed everything...you've gone against the flow of fate and now...'he'...wants to see wants what you'll do next..." he then looked up as the world was basked in light.

"Now...pay attention Jaune...here is what you need to do..." both them and the inner world were soon basked in light and they faded from existence.

* * *

Jaune had stopped screaming as he hung limply off the blade as Cinder smirked at the boy. His sword fallen from his grip as the blade began to dimly glow a soft light unseen by all. She grabbed his chin and lifted his head slightly to smirk at his blank and blood stained face. His eyes clouded over white, as all light was lost in his once dark blue eyes.

"All done? Is this really all a student at Beacon can do? Shame, and I so enjoyed hearing you scream." She dropped his head as she raised her right hand and ignited the palm with an orange. "But all things must come to an end..." she slowly moved her hand to his face as she prepared to incinerate the boy.

Everyone in Vale screamed at once as they begged and pleaded for her to spare the boy.

Yang and Blake were screaming for her to stop. Sun and Neptune tried to hold down Ren and Nora from rushing off to save him - and took all members of Team SSSN to hold Nora down, as they struggled against their grip to rush off and save their friend.

Qrow, Glynda and Ironwood sped up at top speeds, as Qrow quickly shifted his form to that of a crow and raced to the tower at high speeds.

Ruby and Weiss screamed in protest as they quickly broke from the Ice dome and blindly attacked at the Grimm, hoping that they could make it to the tower in time to save their friend.

Pyrrha could only watch in horror as her hand drifted closer to the boy's face as Cinder grinned at the unconscious boy. The shuttle only half way back to the school as she banged on the metal doors to get them open, but no matter what she did, they would not budge.

An inch from his face she could no longer hold in her screams as she screamed his name to the heavens. "JAUNE!" his friends screamed as Cinder smirked and placed her palm close to his cheek...

"Farewell...Foolish Knight" she whispered as she reached for his bloodstained cheek. Only at the last second for a hand to shoot up and grasped her wrist tightly.

The world released a collective gasp as Cinder stared in shock at the hand that was firmly wrapped around her wrist. She looked back to the boy as his eyes were shadowed his hair, as his grip grew tighter.

"What?"

All she got in response was a fist punching her straight in the face, knocking her back and sending her tumbling back from the boy. She looked back as the boy's outstretched fist lingered in the air. He slowly raised his head as powerful eyes stared back at her and she stumbled back as a small yellow flame flickered within in the pupil of his eyes.

He then grasped at the handle with both hands and began to pull the blade from his stomach. Blood gushed forth as he released a powerful yell and wrenched the blade from his gut. He staggered and breathed heavily as held the glass blade in his hand as blood continued to gush from his stomach.

Until his body burst into a massive white flame that surrounded his form as a massive armoured figure appeared behind him. Its eyes glowing with powerful yellow eyes that glared down at Cinder.

From the top of the tower the light shone like a beacon in the night, as across the city the Grimm and people turned their heads to the light as they stared up in awe. Cinder held her hands up to shield herself from the light as she glared at the offending light.

"WHAT! WHAT IS THIS!?" she yelled as the light continued to shine forth.

Within the light, Jaune's body was covered all in a strange black mass that covered his skin and clothes - but stopped just at his head. Rivers of white began to swarm around his form as loud metallic sounds could be heard, as each river of white formed into pieces of armour that secured themselves on his body.

Cinder continued to growl and snarl at the light as the massive Dragon behind her roared in anger at the light as well. All around the Grimm seemed to roar in anger at the light as the citizens of Vale and soldiers of Atlas had to shield their eyes from the screens. When the light finally died down Cinder turned her head back to the boy, but she and the world soon gasped in shock at what stood before her.

Standing before her was a man in a suit of armour that glowed with a shining white light, as powerful yellow eyes glared back at her from the darkness of his helmet.

The armour itself was curved and smooth with claw-like fingertips and two horns that went back across his head. On the chest was a symbol of the Arc family as small gaps in the armour revealed the black surface that had covered his form. The armoured figure looked up as he raised his armoured fist and stared at it for a brief moment.

"Now then..."

The figure spoke as eye went wide when they heard the seriousness of Jaune's voice from within the armour. He then closed his fist with a loud metallic clang as powerful yellow eyes glared at her.

"Let me show you what a student from Beacon can really do!"

To be continued! –

* * *

 **And the scene here is a new story idea that deviates from the main canon. I hope you all enjoyed it and wait patiently for chapter two when it's ready. Now bare in mind this power up will not be permanent and Jaune will not be able to defeat her that easily, and there is a side** **effect of this power, but you are going to have to read to find out.**

 **Until then Masseffect-TxS out!**


	2. Chapter II: And Knights Fall

RWBY: The Remnant Knight

There are many paths in life, some that are set in stone and some that are in a state of flux...then there are the ones that defy the course of fate. This is one such path, where the course of destiny is defied and the path of a Knight is forged in blood, steel and magic. This is the Rise of the Remnant Knight.

* * *

Chapter II: ...And Knights Fall

* * *

Cinder stared back in shock as a White Knight stood before her. Angry yellow eyes glaring back from the darkness of the helmet sent chills down her spine, as his form shone brightly at the top of the tower. The light shone in the dark night before slowly fading to a dull light.

He stared down at his clawed gauntlet before he squeezed his fist tight and felt the power flowing through him. His body while constantly racked in pain, seemed to be slightly numb at the moment. He looked at his clenched fist and flexed his fingers, adjusting to the strange sensation that came from the armour. Meanwhile, around the world, people stared in awe at the literal knight in shining armour that had appeared before them on the screen.

The teachers of Beacon looked at the screens in disbelief as the weakest of their students stood before the world, as they witnessed a Semblance that had never been seen before. The students of Beacon were just as shocked, as the one, they deemed the weakest of them, now stood as a glowing pillar of strength.

But for his friends and those who knew him, they were in complete awe.

Ruby and Weiss, who had managed to seal themselves inside the tower when the large hoard had become too much for them, stared at the boy shrouded in armour.

Ruby was in complete awe at her best friend standing before the villain like a knight in her childhood stories. While Weiss was just stunned to see the boy she had rejected so many times stand so strong against the woman. It showed a side that she had often failed to see before in the young knight. Aside from that now she wished to know more of.

It was honestly awe-inspiring.

Yang and Blake were starstruck as the boy, they usually thought of as the weakest, now stood atop of the tower like the strongest. The bright light had shone so bright from the tower; the two could see it from the safe zone in Vale. And seeing whom the source on the screens was, made them begin to wonder what kind of power he had hidden within.

Nora stared in complete awe as the white armour shimmered around his form, her eyes sparkling wide, but still held a hint of worry for the boy. But she still cheered his name and as she routed for him to send her back to H-E-double hockey sticks.

Nora is not allowed to say any bad words...

Ren while amazed at the sight of his leader as he stood tall and powerful for the first in in his entire life, he could not shake the feeling that was squirming in his chest. That this power had something darker hidden beneath its surface, and that it would inevitably destroy his friend.

Pyrrha looked at the monitor numbly as she felt her heart soar with relief. He was still alive; he still had the chance to escape with his life, she still had the chance to save him. But then her heart sank again when he screamed the words.

' _Let me show you, what a student from Beacon can do!'_

Those words that would have once filled her heart with pride now filled her with dread and despair. He was still willing to fight her, still willing to put his life on the line to protect his friends, still willing to die for them. And that terrified her...

Cinder, on the other hand, was glaring in anger, at the power that now swarmed over his form. "W-What is this?" Cinder said through gritted teeth as she glared at the boy, "What the hell is this! Where did you get that kind of power!" she screamed as she abandoned her calm demeanour and adopted a look of frantic disbelief. His silence seemed to infuriate her more as she glared at him.

"What? Do you think that this will change anything, that you'll somehow magically defeat me with this little light show? Is that what you think?!" he continued to remain silent as she clicked her tongue in annoyance and glared at him. "Do you think you're better than me now! Is that what you think!" silence still emanated from a boy as she swung her arm back.

"YOU ARE NOTHING! NOTHING BUT AN INSECT UNDER MY HEEL!" she yelled as she threw a large ball of fire at the boy, who didn't attempt to block or move out of the way, as his armour glowed slightly and the ball of fire impacted against him.

A huge explosion rocked the tower and a large torrent of fire shot into the air as the top was covered in a thick black smoke. His friend's screamed in fright as the boy was consumed in flames while Cinder only smirked as she assumed her attack was enough to blast the boy into oblivion.

But her eyes widened in fear as the smoke cleared, and Jaune stood with neither a scratch nor burn anywhere on his form.

The armours glow slowly faded as Jaune stared at her, his yellow eyes shone from the dark slits of his helmet as more fear slithered down her spine. She stared in shocked silence as the boy glared at her from across the room, then tensed his muscles as he slid back into a sprinters stance and glared at her. His right arm reared back and his body glowing with aura as the ground beneath his feet began to crack and splinter, before he launched himself at blinding speeds towards Cinder as she raised her hands in defence.

Only he sailed right past her and charged straight for the Dragon behind her.

Shocked she only had seconds to turn around as Jaune drew back his arm and slammed his fist straight into the mouth of the Dragon. A large shockwave blasted as the tower rocked and the sound of bone cracking echoed atop the tower. Teeth and blood flew through the air as the beast's head snapped back at an odd angle before it lost its grip and plummeted to the ground. The boy landing just on the edge of the tower, as its massive body fell off the tower.

The Dragon plummeting to the ground as a large storm of dust blasted off the ground and covered the field in a thick blanket of dust. The world looked on in shock as the beast slammed into the ground below, unable to comprehend the spectacular feat that was just performed.

The students and teachers stared with eyes wide in awe, while the civilians and soldiers could only gape in shock at the insane strength. Even Glynda, Qrow and Ironwood had to stop and stare in awe at the monitors as the beast was thrown from the tower. Qrow released a loud whistle at the amazing display.

Ruby and Weiss had wide eyes and hanging jaws as they watched the boy dash across from Cinder and punched the giant dragon in the face and sent it hurtling to the ground. They could even feel the shockwave as its body slammed into the courtyard. Yang and Blake both had wide eyes as they shared a quick glance with each other and then back to the screen.

Ren's eyes widened further as the Grimm knocked away with a single punch from his leader and a friend he considered a brother. While Nora only had stars in her eyes as she watched her valiant leader, and brother, managed to punch a Grimm straight in the face as she squealed with glee.

Pyrrha could only stare in awe as her partner landed on the edge of the tower and watched the massive beast fall from the tower, a powerful glow evident in his eyes as he stared down at the dragon and then back at Cinder.

Cinder, on the other hand, could only stare in complete horror as the boy had zipped past her at blinding speed and with one punch, brought the massive beast to its knees. Her body shook with fear, and her hands trembled as she stared at his back.

"...What...what the hell is this!?" she said with a trembling voice as she glared up at him. "What kind of power do you have!" she screamed as Jaune only briefly heard her words, as his mind wandered back to the conversation with his grandfather.

* * *

Earlier

* * *

"You understand Jaune?" he asked as the boy nodded. It was just briefly after his semblance was unlocked that his grandfather lowered his head slightly and looked the boy dead centre of his eyes.

"Good, good, remember the sword is key to all of this, it will give you the edge you need to end this...Before you go, there's something I need to tell you," he said as the man raised his hand. "And relax, time moves slower here, you won't miss much when you head back," he said as Jaune breathed a sigh of relief. But then he noticed a sorrowful look in his grandfather's eyes as he looked at the boy.

"What is it?" he asked as the man sighed.

"Jaune, when I activated your semblance, it was not the only ability that was awakened within you...one I wish would never be awakened," he said as Jaune's eyes widened at this.

"I have another ability?" he asked as the man nodded his head.

"In a sense yes, though you're not aware of it as it is within every member of the Arc bloodline. A 'special ability' hidden within us that grants us an immense amount of power and strength, but can only be activated on the brink of death, It's an ability that has granted us victories on multiple battlefields, even when all hope seems lost...but always with a terrible cost" Jaune had a strange feeling in his stomach as his grandfather spoke to him.

"Cost? What kind of cost?" the man was silent as he nodded his head.

"...Before I tell you, I need you to answer me something. Do you know how many generations of Arc's have come before us?" he asked as Jaune looked curiously at the man as he stroked his chin and pondered.

"Um...seventeen I think? That's what dad told me a while ago. There have been seventeen generations of Arc's that have come before us, each one greater than the last" the elderly man nodded as he looked at his grandson.

"Very good, now, do you know how many died on the field of battle?" Jaune thought about this again, as he tried to remember his family's history.

"...Seventeen?" he said as a strange feeling gnawed at the back of his mind, as again the man nodded and pointed to himself.

"Correct, not including your father, there have been seventeen generations of Arc's that came before us. And all seventeen of them have died on the field of battle, myself included" he said as he then smiled solemnly. "And what can you tell me about their deaths?" Jaune had a strange feeling this was leading to somewhere as he remembered each battle that his grandfather taught him. His mind suddenly clicked as he looked up to his grandfather, with a small hint of fear in his eyes.

"Their deaths ensured victory at the cost of their own lives..." the man nodded as he sat down on a stump that manifested on the cliff.

"...Correct... seventeen generations have used this power I have awakened in you. An ability that will turn the tide of any war, and stop that woman's malice...but it will come at a terrible cost..." Jaune swallowed slightly as Cornelius laced his fingers and rested his arms on his knees.

"It called 'Final Inheritance' a cursed ability that has been passed down and used seventeen times in our history...eighteen, now that it has awakened in you," he said as Jaune held a hand to his chest.

"What...what does it do?" Jaune asked as the man frowned deeply and hung his head.

"It floods your body with the accumulative strength and power of every past generation of Arc that has come before you, each one giving you their strength and power, as well as giving you a tremendous boost in speed and agility. A culmination of over two hundred years of Arc warriors poured into your body, with an almost instinctual knowledge to use it..."

"But the price of using this...the user cannot survive the massive strain of that much power coursing through their body, add to the life threating injuries that activated Final Inheritance, the user will die from their wounds...it's actually how I died..." he sighed as shook his head.

He hung his head lower as he spoke solemnly, "There hasn't been a single Arc who has used this ability and lived to see the next day. I'm sorry Jaune...you will die when you use this..."

Jaune stared back blankly as he looked at his grandfather's solemn form and then down at his own hand as a blank looked masked his face. He showed no emotion on his face, nor did he feel fear at this startling revelation, as he stared at his hand before gripping it into a fist.

"I don't care" Cornelius looked up, a stunned look on his face, as Jaune continued to hold his fist tight.

"I'm not afraid of what happens to me, I don't even care that I'll die after I use it. All that matters to me is that my friends are safe; all that matters is that Pyrrha is safe." He looked up as a powerful fire burned in his eyes.

"As for this woman? I'll make her see what happens when she messes with my friends and I'll send her back to whatever hole she crawled out of, this I promise. On my name as an Arc!" Jaune said with a serious tone in his voice as Cornelius stared back in awe before a small smirk appeared on his face.

"All right then..." he spread his arms wide as an ethereal glow illuminated them both as both of their eyes shone brightly.

"Show her what an Arc, can really do!"

* * *

Present

* * *

Bits and piece of the tower still continued to crumble, as the massive beast lay on the courtyard floor. While unconscious, it was still alive, but would not be getting back up anytime soon. Jaune turned his head back as he stared at her still form. He then began to slowly walk towards her as she backed away slightly, but kept her blades up. But Jaune calmly walked past her, as if he didn't even register her, and made his way over to his sword.

For what felt like an eternity – but in reality was merely minute – a voice spoke out over both the tower and the CCT network.

"...Final Inheritance..."

Around the world, people looked confused as they stared at the boy. The younger generations of hunters, students and civilians had no idea what the boy was talking about. But for a certain portly hunter, a family of ten and a dusty old crow, their eyes widened in fear as they heard the words spoken.

"What?" she asked dumbly as Jaune narrowed his yellow eyes.

"I said 'Final Inheritance'...it's the power I just unlocked. You wanted to know what it is? It's an ability that has been hidden within my family for seventeen generations. It awakens any dormant Semblance within our bodies, and unlocks them to their fullest potential," he said as people around the world stared in awe. But for a father and mother of eight children, it was the most dreadful thing they could ever hear.

"But that's not all it does..." he continued as he looked down at his clawed gauntlet.

"It also imbues me with the strength of every generation of Arc Warrior that has come before me. And according to history, there have been a lot Arc's that have come before me...and each one of them is giving me strength beyond measure," he said as Cinder's eyes widened in fear.

For a brief moment, whether in a daze from the shockwave or out of fear, she could have sworn she saw seventeen ghostly men and women standing behind him. Each one of them had eyes glowing yellow as they angrily glared at her and bore their anger into her soul.

"They are giving me the strength to fight you now..." His eyes continued to bore into her soul as she snarled in anger at him. "And with this power, I will stop you!" he yelled as he pointed his sword at her, his eyes glowing a powerful light. "And that is a promise..." he said with a final glare as Cinder stared in shock.

For some reason, she could not stand those eyes, the eyes that refused to break, eyes that refused to submit to their fate. Eyes of complete defiance that refused to bend to her will.

"...Don't...don't you..." she summoned an array of glass sword as they hovered around her form. "DON'T YOU DARE LOOK AT ME LIKE THAT!" she then sent the blades at the boy as they sailed through the air at blinding speeds.

Jaune quickly crossed his arms as the blades crashed into him, the glass instantly shattering as they came into contact with the armour. Small fragments of glass littered the air as Cinder's eyes widened in terror, while Jaune stared into hers with electric yellow eyes.

He then charged at her as he slashed at her. But she managed to dodge as summoned two blades of glass and crossed them to block his second strike. But she fell to her knee as she felt the tremendous amount of power behind his swing.

The ground cracked beneath them as Jaune continued to push against the woman, the glass blades beginning to crack as he pushed down further. He glared up as he cast a quick glance to his sword, small symbols and glyphs slowly appeared on the blade as the boy shook his head and raised his blade to the monster and the beast. Cinder growled as she inspected the large cracks on her blades and then looked back at the boy.

' _This doesn't make any sense; he was close to death's door mere moments ago! How can he be coming at me with all this strength, when I have acquired the powers of a maiden?!'_ she thought to herself but was cut off as she ducked under his swing.

The force of the swing carved a large crescent into the floor as powerful yellow eyes stared down at her before he brought his blade up and then down with enough force to carve a huge scar into the floor.

She summoned several balls of fire around her form as she sent them sailing towards the boy, who raised his left hand and blocked each and every one of them. A thick blanket of smoke covered the top of the tower as the world was blinded to the fight. But with a swing of his sword, the smoke dissipated as Jaune quickly searched for Cinder.

His instincts instantly told him to move his head, as a glass arrow whizzed past his head.

He looked over to see Cinder, with her glass bow and arrow, as she summoned three more stained glass arrows and shot them at the boy. His armour instantly stopped the first one, as he quickly struck the second out of the air, while dodging the last arrow and rushing straight towards her.

He then jumped high into the air as he brought his sword crashing down on her. She was barely lucky to deflect most of the blade with her own, but the force had shattered her sword into small fragments of glass. Jaune then swiped at her as she quickly summoned a shield of glass that blocked his attack.

Powerful electric eyes and orange blazing eyes glared at each other as one pushed back against the other.

* * *

Meanwhile back at the docks, the students and civilians began to cheer as the boy fought back against the true culprit of all their strife's. Men and women cheered and screamed as the boy began pushing her back with each blow he struck, soldiers howled and rooted for the boy as they shot off an occasional round into the air and to those she had manipulated into doing her dirty work...

It was satisfying to see her show fear.

"KICK HER ASS JAUNE!" Nora screamed as she swung her fist in the air and instantly regretted it as she held her bruised stomach. "Owie!" she said as Ren placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Save your strength Nora, you're going to need it if we want to help Jaune," Ren said as he made the girl sit back down on the ground.

"Sorry," she said as she rested back on the ground. The rest of the group looked at their scrolls and the tower in the distance as the fight continued.

"Who knew Arc had a Semblance like that? Really could have used it a while ago" Coco said as she rubbed her aching joints. "Why didn't he use it earlier?" she asked as she and the others looked at Ren and Nora.

"Jaune didn't have his semblance before. We've actually been trying for months to get him to awaken it. I guess the only reason it activated was cause he was close to..." he paused as he let the word hang in the air.

"Regardless," Yatushashi said as he observed the scroll, "It's is very fortunate that he awakened his semblance when he did. Another second longer and he'd be a goner," he observed as he destroyed another glass sword.

"But for how much longer can, he keep it up?" Fox said as they all shared a concerned glance towards each other.

"What did you just say?!" Suddenly their attention was turned to the professors as Oobleck was talking to the larger man, as he turned back to talk to Oobleck.

"I said we have to stop him before it's too late Oobleck! The longer he uses that power, the closer he will be to death!" the portly man said as the Doctor looked confused.

"What do you mean by that. Port do you know what that power is?" he asked as Port nodded at him.

"I don't know about that armour, but I do know about 'Final Inheritance'. After all, I've seen it before...ten years ago," the man said as he furrowed his brow. Oobleck's eyes widened slightly as he caught on to what the man was saying.

"You mean?" Port nodded as Oobleck stared back in shock, My God..."

"Professor Port?" the two teachers turned to the group as Velvet stood before them. "What do you mean you've seen it before? Do you know what this semblance is?" the older man sighed as he nodded his head, unaware of the shuttle that landed behind them.

"I do...that armour maybe his semblance, but that is not why I'm worried..." he said as they looked confused.

"Ten years ago, I fought alongside Jaune's grandfather, Cornelius Arc" eyes widened slightly at the revelation. "We were apart on a search and destroy mission that went wrong, and was forced to activate that accursed ability," he growled as looked back at the tower.

"...Final Inheritance, Gods above I wish I'd never have to hear that word again...it's an ability that has existed in the Arc bloodline for countless generations...a cursed power hidden within their blood" the group shared a concerned glance as a figure slowly walked up behind them.

"It can only be activated when an Arc is near death and grants an individual the power of every generation of Arc that has come before them and assuring them victory on any battlefield. But the strain is too much for the body to handle and the user..." He paused to swallow the anxiety in his breath, before looking back and says.

"The user...dies from his wounds..." eyes widened in shock and horror, as they looked between themselves and the tower. A loud metallic clang reverberated in the area, as the group turned to see a bronze shield lying on the ground. They looked up to see a stunned and shell-shocked Pyrrha, as she stared wide-eyed at the portly professor.

A loud metallic clang reverberated in the area, as the group turned to see a bronze shield lying on the ground. They looked up to see a stunned and shell-shocked Pyrrha, as she stared wide-eyed at the portly professor.

"Pyrrha?" Nora said as the girl's eyes were wide, with small tears brimming at the edges of her emerald eyes.

"W-what...J-Jaune...Jaune will..." she looked up at the tower as fear and dread surfaced in her heart. "No!" she screamed as she bolted towards the tower, her shield flying back to her before anyone could stop her.

"Pyrrha wait!" Ren yelled out as he tried to stop, but grunted in pain as he held his side. "Damn it!" he screamed as Sun managed to catch him.

"Take it, easy man! You're still too injured to move!" the blond Faunus said as he helped him to the ground. Ren managed to pull up his scroll dialled the number for Ruby.

"Ruby listen it's Ren, you have to stop Jaune! That power he is using will kill him, you have to get up there now!" he said as gasps could be heard on the other end.

"WHAT?!" they heard before the line went dead and Ren growled in frustration as the scrolls battery read dead. Port then turned to the man as he nodded.

"Come on Oobleck, we have to get to the Tower before its too late!" Port said as he hefted his Battle-axe into the air.

The thin man nodded as he deployed his weapon, ready to charge into the fray when suddenly the ground began to shake as they turned back to the tower. Their eyes widened as they watched a large dark shadow slowly crawl up the tower.

"Oh no," Neptune said as they all stared in horror.

* * *

Earlier at the top of the Tower

* * *

Jaune and Cinder continued to fight as they slashed and hacked at each other with their blades. Bits and pieces of Jaune's armour began to chip away, while Jaune had only managed to cut and graze certain sections of the woman before him.

It would seem that Jaune was winning, but in truth, he was just barely hanging on. While the power granted to him by Final Inheritance had increased his strength, speed and reflexes, it did not mean that it gave him the skills necessary to land a killing blow.

Jaune had only months of training and experience under Pyrrha's guidance, and while he had basic knowledge of swordsmanship, it did not give him the skill necessary to combat Cinders years of experience and brutality.

The battle was being determined by Skill and Experience.

But Cinder, on the other hand, knew that if she made one mistake while fighting the empowered boy could lead to the end of her. While lacking in skill and experience, the amount of power he now possessed could easily kill her if she made one single mistake. She had already made the mistake before of underestimating the boy's intelligence and ingenuity, which had caused her to accidentally reveal her manipulation to the world.

The ramifications were that the Kingdoms would not be divided as she wished them to be, but would rather be united to combat her master's true goals. And now that they knew she had stolen a Maidens power, it would put the other Maidens on high alert for future attacks, making them now more difficult to acquire.

But the divide between the Faunus and the humans would widen, thanks to the White Fangs assistance in helping her attack an entire Kingdom.

And while they would deny the knowledge of her true motives, they would still be feared and hated by the rest of the world, drawing in more Grimm to their doors. Of course, Adam would now be gunning for her head for tricking him, but he was a small pest she could easily deal with. But for now, she had to deal with this one insect that managed to muck up her plans.

Her eyes flashed orange as she summoned an array of fireballs and launched them at the boy. Jaune crossed his arms as the balls of fire exploded on his body. The armour, with Final Inheritance enhancing his defences, withstood against the barrage of fire as black smoke shrouded his vision.

His eyes widened as Cinder charged out from the smoke and sliced her blade against his face, small fragments sparked from the impact of glass and aura as glowing yellow eyes quickly glared back. Jaune swiped his sword with a massive swing that blasted the smoke away and forced Cinder to back away from the boy.

The muscles in Jaune's legs tensed as he sped across the tower and swung his blade at the woman, small strands of her hair were sliced as she barely managed to duck under his blade. She then slashed at his stomach, as again small fragments of aura sparked off his armour. Jaune jumped back as he grasped at the small cut that appeared on his chest.

The two kept a careful distance from each other as they glared from across the destroyed room, the CCT Tower barely holding together, but still broadcasted their fight around the world. He glanced down quickly at Crocea as the runes and glyphs continued to glow dimly on the steel.

His eyes narrowed as he gripped the handle of his blade tighter.

' _Not yet, it's not ready yet, I need a few more minutes before I can use it. I just need to stall her long enough to use it...'_ he glanced down at his hand that shook slightly. ' _But I don't know how much longer I can hold this for. Final Inheritance is taking a huge toll on my body. I'd say I've got five minutes before my Aura runs out. And when that happens...I'm dead,'_ he gripped his fist tighter as he glared up at her.

' _But I can't stop now if I don't she kill everyone I know! She'll kill Pyrrha if I give her the chance!'_ his glare intensified as he gripped his blade tighter. ' _And there is no way in hell that I'll let that happen!'_

He released a mighty roar as he charged at the woman, his blade shining in the moonlight as he clashed once against the Fallen Maiden. She growled in rage as her blades glowed like fire and she parried against the boy's sword. Each clash of steel and glass would scatter sparks of light in the dark night atop of the tower.

The two warriors fighting for the fate of Vale, for the fate of all the people of Remnant and to ensure that one of them would survive, at the cost of the other.

Jaune bashed against her glass blade with his sword as the glass cracked and crumbled under the strength of his steel. She discarded the blade easily as she forged another in her hand and parried his blade with her own, while also charging a ball of fire in her spare hand.

Thinking quickly, Jaune stabbed his sword into the floor and slashed upwards, sending small bits of gravel and debris into her face temporarily blinding her. This caused her to drop her sword and shot her ball off course, however with her limited vision she only managed to knock his sword out of his hand. But Jaune didn't care about that as he used this opportunity to rush forward and punched her under her chin, throwing her into the air until he grabbed her by her ankle and slammed her back into the ground.

She gasped in pain before he lifted her up again and slammed her again into the ground. He repeated this two more times as the ground began cracking and breaking with large web-like cracks littering the floor, along with imprints of a human body.

Dazed and confused for a brief moment, she could barely register the world around her until Jaune quickly grabbed his sword off the ground and raised it over his head to end the fight once and for all. He only took a brief moment to absorb the absolute look of terror in her eyes as he raised his blade high and thrust it towards her. But she snapped out of her shock as she barely managed to roll out its way, as the steel blade pierced the concrete ground.

She grabbed one of her fallen swords and quickly sprung at the boy, who barely managed to raise his blade to block her attack. Small fragments of glass and metal sparked off their blades as they soon were face to face with each other. Jaune glared as he pushed his blade further against hers.

"Tell me! Do you have any regret for what you've done? The lives you've robbed! The friends you've manipulated! The thousands of innocent people you've killed in your quest for that power! Do you even care about your own race?!" Jaune seemed to ask the woman as she merely glared into his eyes then grinned.

"No, why would I care about a race I gave up long ago?" She gave a haunting grin as she flooded her eyes with a sickly orange light. "Humanity is a sickness that needs to be purged from this world, in order for its true masters to reclaim it as its own" Jaune stared at her as she grinned.

"Man may have crawled from the dust, but it was the Grimm that ruled this world before them, and it is they that the world should truly belong to, not this pathetic excuse of a race! It is they that shall win this day, not man!" she said as Jaune grinned under his helmet.

"Really? If that's the case..." he pushed down further on his blade as she was now kneeling on the floor. "Why are you losing?" she snarled and summoned the maiden's power and pushed back against the boy. Suddenly the tower rumbled slightly as they stumbled for a second, causing them to break from their hold.

"What the heck?" was all Jaune could say before Cinder took the opportunity to strike as she slashed at his chest.

A large section of his chest plate was destroyed as his armour now sported a large gash on his chest and blood sputtered from the wound. He fell to one knee, as he numbly grasped at the cut in his chest and the pain that flooded his body. Cinder grinned as she thrust her blade forward, ready to pierce his heart and kill the one pest that had foiled her plans. But before she could stab him in the heart with her blade, he quickly grabbed the blade in his hand and held it firmly in his grip.

She could only stare in shock for a brief moment before the flash of steel swiped against her eyes and blood flew through the air. She held her hand to her face as she screamed in anguish.

"ARGH! MY FACE! YOU BASTARD! MY FACE! ARGHH!" she screamed as she held her face in her hands and screamed bloody murder as smoke began to rise from her fingers. Jaune, however, was not paying attention as he grasped at the large chunk missing in his armour, and the blood that flowed through his fingers.

He had noticed throughout the fight that parts of his armour had not regenerated, as it had in the early stages of this fight, which could only mean one thing.

...Final Inheritance was almost over...

He knew that any moment his body would fail him, his grandfather had warned him about it in his mindscape about the damage 'Final Inheritance' would do to his body, and how he would not survive this fight. But none of that would matter unless he killed this woman now before his aura ran dry and he succumbs to his wounds.

But with every second that passed his body began to feel like it was made of lead, and his vision would blur at random moments during the fight, most likely due to the large amounts of blood he had lost prior to Final Inheritances awakening.

The only reason he had not keeled over was the fact that his semblance, the armour that shrouded his body, was holding in his organs and Final Inheritance pushing his body beyond its limits. But he was running out of time, and Cinder was running out of patience. She glared at him through the slits of her fingers as she used the flames of her power to seal the wound.

"You...you filthy little cur...H-how dare you-" she spoke as she still held her face in pain, but found the strength to stand. "How dare you do this to me!" she said as she removed her hand and revealed the damage he had done.

Now instead of a beautiful face that could charm the heart of any man, she had a face that was scarred from the right of her jaw to just under her left eye. She now looked, as she truly was on the inside, ugly and twisted. Jaune didn't care as he kneeled on the floor and coughed a small splash of blood from his lips. The blood leaking from his helmet as it dropped onto the already stained floor.

Jaune could barely hear her raving and maddening voice as he felt his eyes dropping and his body growing increasingly numb. He knew his time was almost up, and soon he would pass from this world and go onto the next.

' _Shit...'_ he thought to himself as he felt himself fall closer to the darkness. _'Even with this power I have it's still not enough, and this damn sword isn't even ready yet...'_ he could barely make out her twisted and angry face as she tried to stand up, but failed as she fell back to one knee.

He chuckled slightly as he felt his body go slack and his pain slowly fading _'...Guess I still can't do anything right huh?_ ' he thought as he felt his strength slowly leave him.

' _Sorry, everyone...but my time is up...'_

Suddenly he felt something pulsed in his right hand, almost like a heartbeat as a soft light peeked through his eyelid. His eyes open as he looked down at the sword in his hand. The glyphs and symbols that appeared throughout the fight were now glowing brighter and pulsing faster than before, as a feeling of hope swelled in his chest.

' _...About bloody time...'_

The world watched on in awe as the boy slowly stood up, blood slowly cascading down his chest and piling on the floor as he stood valiantly against the Fallen Maiden. If they could see under his helmet they would have wondered why he was grinning that day. But what came next would still surprise them to this day.

The tower shook again as Cinder managed to look over the edge to see the Dragon slowly climbing back up the tower; its face was severely damaged with large cracks spread across its mask, along with a few of its front teeth missing from its mouth, from when Jaune had punched it at the start of the renewed fight. Cinder, however, could only grin as she saw the pure hatred in its eyes as it clawed and climbed its way up the tower.

It was angry, it was hungry and it wanted revenge. Cinder turned back to the boy as she grinned madly, as he eyes were wide with glee.

"It's all over boy! The dragon is awake! Y-You'll die now! You'll finally be dead! I Win! You Lose! It's game over! AHAHAHAHAHAHA!" she cackled loudly like a witch from the olden tales, her madness finally taking over as she laughed and laughed into the eye, as the Dragon grew closer.

"ITS OVER NOW! FOOLISH KNIGHT!" she roared to the heavens as Jaune only nodded his head and slid back into a fighting stance.

"You're right...It is over..." he then glared as he moved his sword back "...for you..."

Confused she only watched as he held his sword at a horizontal angle, the tip of the ancient blade hovering over the ground as he placed his left hand on the handle and held the blade tight.

The world could only watch in awe as yellow glyphs and symbols appeared on the blade, the strange yellow light shining brightly in the dark night sky, as the sounds of an echoing heartbeat resonated in the air. The sound grew louder and louder as the light shined brighter than before. Cinder had to cover her eyes as the light blinded her and made her unable to move. From within the light, Jaune closed his eyes as he focused on a memory of his grandfather.

" _Jaune, did I ever tell you the legends of the three swords? How long ago our family was gifted with three special blades by a strange man from a time long past?"_

The yellow light swarmed and surged as the glyphs and symbols began to consume the blade. The metal shining like a bright star in the night sky, as Jaune held fast to the blade.

" _How with them we carved our family name into history? How we have used these blades through many lifetimes, and each one under a different name?"_

The blade then pulsed as it grew one length in size, then again as the blade grew one more in the yellow light. The blade basked in the strange light, as the massive Dragon continued to roar and climb up the prestigious tower.

" _The Legends of the Red, Grey and Yellow Death, three names that have passed on through the legend of our family history...but in truth, all one blade..."_

The sound of metal shifting and turning resonated as the light intensified before slowly receding into the centre of the light. Cinder uncovered her eyes as she glared at the boy, only to gasp in shock at what she saw.

" _One blade, three names, all with special powers...And the most powerful of them all was the Yellow Death...a blade said to be able to slay any Grimm with a single strike..."_

Jaune stood in the centre of the golden light as in his hand was no longer a simple longsword, but now a large claymore sword with the edges of the blade a golden trim that shimmered in the light that surrounded the blade.

The handle was now a golden set of wings, with the symbol of the Arc family branded in the centre of the hilt. But at the centre of the Crescent symbol was the symbol a triangle with three coloured points of Yellow, Red and Grey with the yellow shining brighter than the rest.

" _Because the Yellow Death had a special ability...to draw the power and energy from all living things around it...from the trees to the animals to the very earth..."_

Jaune glared as he brought the blade back even further as the light began to swarm and swirl around the massive broadsword. The tower continued to shake as the Dragon finally made it to the top and roared at both the boy and the light that surrounded him.

" _...even our own enemies..."_

Suddenly she noticed small strands of orange light leaving her body and swarming its way towards the boy, her eyes wide in terror as she quickly turned to the dragon.

" _...The sword gathers this energy, amplifies it within the blade..."_

"KILL HIM! KILL HIM NOW!" she commanded with a voice of fear and panic, as the Dragon roared and lunged at the boy with its massive jaws. Jaune, however, did not move as the world slowed to a crawl as the world watched with bated breath as the beast descended on him with furious intent.

" _...And unleashes it back in full force..."_

And in that last moment as he swung his sword towards the dragon he says one word, which was barely above a whisper but would forever shake the world.

"...Burn..."

A golden blast of fire shot off the blade and slammed into the Dragons massive jaws as the tower shook and crumbled at the massive blast. Cinder screamed as she was enveloped in the light, along with the Dragon as it made one final roar before disappearing into the light. The People had to shield their eyes, as the light was so intense, they feared it would have burned their pupils if they stared at it.

Ruby and Weiss, who had just run out to help their friend, shielded their eyes as the blast rocketed off the tower and shot across the campus. Pyrrha even had to stop as she too stared in awe at the blast of energy that was more than likely produced by her partner. Students and teachers stared in awe, as they watched the massive energy surge across the city.

The massive stream of golden fire sailed across the city as those who looked upon it, could have sworn it looked like a giant golden crescent, sailing high like the moon in the sky. The blast sailed across until it slammed into the side of Mountain Glenn. The mountain disappeared in the golden light, before a large explosion rocked the world to its core, sending a powerful shockwave that could be felt for miles as the people and Grimm turned to stare in shock at the sight.

Desperate for answers, the people returned their gaze to their screens as all around the world, people could only see static and a large crack running through the centre of the image.

The static slowly began to recede as Jaune stood before them, his breath laboured and heavy, as he held the massive blade in his hand. Dust and smoke drifting around his form as the world waited for the fate of the Dragon. When the smoke finally settled, they could only stare in awe as before the boy was the massive Dragon that had brought terror into their hearts...

But now stood with no head upon its shoulders, and the sight of the mountain Glenn completely destroyed in the distance.

The massive body began to creak and lurch as the beast with no head lost its grip and fell to the earth. Its massive body plummeting to the ground, as dust and smoke blasted off the destroyed courtyard, the world looked on shocked as the massive beast was slain by the brave knight.

"My word..." the portly professor stared in awe at the destruction caused by his student. Oobleck's glasses dipped slightly as he kept his eyes on his scroll. The light slowing dimming off the blade as he inspected the inscriptions that now lined the centre of the blade.

"Interesting...very interesting..." he said as he narrowed his eyes at the strange symbol on the boy's blade.

"Whoa..." was all that Sun could say those around him could only nod numbly. His teammates sharing glances at each other, while Neptune suddenly felt that Jaune's threat about making Weiss unhappy had more meaning than he let on.

Coco, Velvet, Fox and Yatsuhashi had eyes wide open as they were witness to an amazing sight, as their 'junior classmate' defeated a beast that not even they could have stood against. It was honestly amazing.

"W-What the heck was that? Was that Jaune?" Yang asked as Blake could only stare at the image on the screen.

"I-I don't know, I think it was...but where did he get that kind of power?" she asked more herself than her partner.

"Ren! Ren! Did you see that?! It was like Vroom! Then Bang! And Kablamo!" Nora said as she pointed to the tower and the now destroyed mountainside. Ren didn't pay attention as he observed the slowly destroyed mountain in the distance and the large remains of the beheaded dragon.

Ruby and Weiss looked up at the tower as they were still in awe of the large light. Growls all around them brought them back to reality, as they remembered that the Grimm surrounded them. But for some strange reason, they did not attack them as they just stared blankly at the beheaded Dragon. Its large corpse slowly decaying into the wind as it lay still on the ground. And then something happened that the world would still find hard to believe.

The Grimm in all their numbers, and in all of their sizes...

Turned their tails and ran from Vale

Hundreds of thousands of Grimm fled from the tower as Nevermore's and Gryphons screeched into the air. Goliaths releasing large trumpet-like sounds as they too turned around and fled from the Academy.

The smaller Grimm-like Beowolves and Ursa's stopped the carnage they were doing and fled from the massive corpse, as Crawler upon Crawler scurried away, giving no care to the small Boarbatusks that stood in their way.

Soon the entire population of Grimm that had invaded the city and the beasts that had darkened the sky were gone, as they fled from whatever it was that killed the Dragon. Their near animal-like instincts told them that if they dared go against that which killed the strongest amongst them, they would surely meet the same fate. If the Dragon stood no chance against the warrior...

What chance would they have?

Glynda and Ironwood, in their many years of hunting, had never seen such a sight as Grimm after Grimm continued to ignore them and desperately ran out of the city. Qrow, who could not reach the Tower due to the many Nevermores and Griffin's in the air, stopped and reverted to his human form as he stood at the top of a lone tower as he watched the Grimm fleeing for their lives. He turned his head to the tower as smoke still drifted off the top and he whistled slightly at the sight of the Grimm fleeing.

"Huh, never thought I would see the day when Grimm would be running away from a fight..." he looked back up at the tower as he set his gaze on the top. "Now let's just hope it stays that way, and hope that kid hasn't killed himself yet..." he then transformed again as he flew towards the tower.

Jaune at the top of the tower gazed out at the destruction he had caused as he breathed in pain-filled breaths. His vision blurring and his body began to shake as all the adrenaline that kept him fighting had finally worn off. He then lost his grip on his sword as he allowed it to fall on the floor, the metal clattering on the floor before shining a bright light and returning to its normal form.

He stood upon his own shaking feet as he struggled to keep his body standing straight until finally he gave out and crumbled to his knees.

He breathed in slowly and painfully as he felt his body becoming lax from the lack of adrenaline in his body. He craned his head around as he searched for any signs of the mysterious woman, but alas could find no trace of her as smoke silently drifted around the tower. He allowed his head to go limp against his chest as he breathed in shallow breaths.

"Finally..." he wheezed through heaving breaths as he slowly closed his eyes, "It's over..." he choked on a splash of blood as he coughed and gasped for air. He looked down at his armoured hand as small bits of aura began to break away from him. A blood-covered hand was exposed to him as he noticed more sections of his armour began to break away from him.

His time was up

He slacked his shoulders as he smiled softly within the fading helmet of his armour, as a look of peace appeared on his face as he slowly allowed himself to slip away into the darkness...

' _Guess this it huh? Times up for me, well...at least I die doing something good for once...'_ his mind drifted to Pyrrha as her warm smile filled his mind and softened his heart _. 'At least I got to protect the people I care for...at least they're safe...at least 'she's' safe...and that's all that matters...'_ his eyes closed as the world became dark around him.

' _That's all that ever mattered...'_ and then all was quiet as Jaune prepared to leave this mortal realm, and ascend to the Kingdom Eternal...

Before a shard of blackened glass sailed across the tower and shattered a section of his armour. His left shoulder exploded into fragments of aura and glass, as his eyes snapped open in shock. He grabbed his shoulder as another glass shard sailed towards him, this time hitting in the face as half his helmet was blown away, revealing his bruised and bleeding face.

"Gah!" he screamed as he grasped his shoulder in pain as his back hit the floor as if a thousand needles had just been jammed into his spine. He pushed himself onto his elbows as he struggled to see who had attacked him. His heart dropped inside his chest as he stared in complete shock at what he saw.

Standing before him was the woman who had plunged the entire city of Vale into chaos. Her hair now a complete mess, with edges of the raven locks were signed and uneven in multiple areas, her dress was completely in tatters with bits and pieces of blood and dirt covered covering the once vibrant cloth. But the most dramatic change of her image was the fact that the entire right side of her body was nothing but burnt flesh, with her right arm completely obliterated and the right side of her head severely burnt giving her a half-twisted face which coupled all together with her savage look, brought fear into everyone's heart.

"You! You piece of filth! D-do you have any idea of what you've done!" she screamed as she limped towards the boy, another shard of dark glass forming in her hands as Jaune tried desperately to stand. But she showed no mercy as she shot another shard of glass into his body, the glass shattering on and breaking off a large section of his armour.

"Gah!" he screamed as the shard bashed against his form, another shard slamming into his leg as he screamed in pain. A third was shot towards him that he barely managed to deflect it with his gauntlet, which caused the shard to redirect straight into the Scroll that had been broadcasting this entire time.

"Jaune!" his friends yelled at the screen became static and they had lost all possible know the fate of their friend.

"Do you have any idea how much negative energy it took to awaken that Dragon!" she fired again, only to miss as she gasped in pain at her burns. Jaune struggled to stand but only succeeded in coughing up blood as he fell back onto the floor.

"Years of planning! Years of manipulating! Years of patience! Gone! All of it gone! Because of a lowly pathetic human like you! Who doesn't know when to just die!" she screamed as she unleashed a stream of fire that burnt along the ground. Jaune barely managed to roll out of the way but gasped in pain as he felt his ribs push against his lungs.

Blood gushed from his lips as he desperately tried his best to keep his organs inside his chest. But the amount of pain that was surging through his body and the multiple amounts of injuries he had been subjected to, he was barely lucky to keep his eyes open. Cinder fared no better as she stumbled onto one knee, the burns that now adorned the right side of her boy caused her blindness in one eye and severe nerve damage to her right leg.

In essence, they were both fighting on their last legs.

But Jaune had no more strength. His entire body was in complete shambles, and nearly his entire aura reserve was practically gone. A few more seconds and Final Inheritance would run its full course...and he would die. Cinder struggled to move as she slowly limped her way towards the fallen hero, her mind long since lost its sanity the moment he took her arm from her, and now she was going to do what she should have done at the beginning of this fight.

And kill Jaune Arc

She stood over his broken form, a manic grin on her face as she formed a long thin shard of glass, the tip of the shard hovering just over his chest as the woman grinned in perverted delight. The black glass glistened in the smouldering fires of the tower as Cinder held the glass shard over her fallen enemy, hoping to enjoy the look of fear on his face, as it would be the last thing he would ever experience in his life...

But she saw no fear on his face or the look of a plea in his eyes. Instead, she saw the same eyes that had glared at her throughout the entire night. The eyes of a man that refused to break, the eyes of a man that is not afraid to give his life for others...

The eyes of defiance

Cinder snarled as she stared into his dual coloured eyes, one an electrifying yellow and the other a dark blue, as she held the glass shard over his form.

"Stop it...stop it..." she whispered quietly as he continued to glare into her eyes. She widened her eyes even wider as she held the glass shard over his form. "STOP LOOKING AT ME WITH THOSE GOD DAMN EYES!" she yelled as she thrust the shard forward and the world seemed to slow down around him. But then a loud shot echoed as the shard exploded into millions of specks of dust.

Cinder stared dumbly at her shattered weapon. "What!" she yelled as she cast her gaze to the left, to see the smoking barrel of Crescent Rose and the determined glare of one Ruby Rose.

* * *

Five Minutes Earlier

* * *

"Ruby-...Ren, you-...stop Jaune! That-...power-...kill him-...you have-...up there now!" he barely said through the scroll as Ruby and Weiss gasped at the boy.

"WHAT?!" Ruby and Weiss said as Ruby gripped her scroll tighter, "What do you mean Jaune will die! Ren!" she yelled again, only to see that her battery had died. "No!" she yelled as she then turned to Weiss.

"We have to go now!" she said as Weiss nodded and spun her revolver and melted the layer of Ice. They both rushed out of the tower as they were met with an army of Grimm. Body parts and ice scattered the area as Ruby and Weiss fought to reach the tower. But even they knew that they would never reach Jaune on time if they kept fighting the Grimm.

Not together anyway...

"Weiss, I have a plan, do you think you're up to it?" Ruby asked her partner as they stood back to back. The young heiress scoffed as a playful smirk appeared on her lips.

"Do you even have to ask?" she said as they nodded and Weiss summoned a series of glyphs that lined the outside of the tower, similar to their first day of the exam.

"I'll grab Jaune and get him back to the docks, you go on ahead and we'll meet you there!" Ruby said as she quickly darted and ran up the side of the tower. Sparing one last glance at her partner as the heiress nodded before turning around and headed for the docks.

"Don't you dare die on us...you dunce..." she silently prayed as she fled from the tower, hoping that the boy she ignored and the friend she always wanted did not perish against the mad woman.

Ruby bolted up the tower with all her strength as the wind rushed past her, the many glyphs that lined the tower kept her from plummeting as she desperately tried to make it to the top. All the while she was hoping and praying that she would make it in time to save her friend. The images of Jaune being butchered still haunted her, as she had never seen such brutality dealt out by another human.

She was already shaken up when her sister lost her arm...she couldn't imagine what would happen to her first friend. She finally made it to the top of the tower as he eyes widened in terror at what she saw.

Jaune laid flat on the floor, his head glaring up at the severely burnt woman as she stood over his fallen form. Hovering in her left hand was a long thin shard of glass with the tip dangling just over his eyes as she prepared to end him once and for all. If it had been another time and place, and if she had not seen the horrors that she had been inflicted upon him or anyone else, she would have been frozen stiff and would have been helpless to do anything...

But something inside her had broken that day, and she could stand for it no more. Faster than anyone could blink, she drew Crescent Rose from her waist and fired a high powered round at the glass shard that hung over their heads.

She had enough of this madness; she had enough of watching her friends being butchered and maimed. She'd had enough, no more madness...

No more

* * *

The Present, Beacon Tower

* * *

Ruby glared with the intensity of a thousand suns, as a small glimmer of light shone in her eyes. But no one noticed as she blinked it away, and aimed her weapon at the one who would dare take away her first friend.

"STAY AWAY FROM HIM YOU BITCH!" Ruby yelled as she aimed at the woman and fired another round. Cinder barely managed to avoid the bullets as she summoned a shield of glass to protect her.

"RUBY!" Jaune yelled on the ground as the small huntress shot forward to fight against the woman of flames.

Cinder, while weakened, still had enough power left in as she summoned a bolt of lightning and sent it towards the small red-haired girl. The bolt of lightning sailed towards her as it quickly struck the small girls weapon and was flung against the room. Ruby looked at her weapon before turning back to the woman as she slowly hobbled over to the girl.

Ruby quickly disappeared in a dash of roses as she darted around the room, making a desperate run for her fallen weapon. But Cinder would not allow it as she quickly shot a torrent of fire, mere inches from the Crescent Rose as Ruby had to stop and back away from the wall of fire. Before she could even try to dart away, another wall of fire shot up beside her as the walls of flames boxed her in. And before she knew it, a bolt of lightning struck her chest and slammed her against a partially destroyed wall.

It was not powerful enough to kill her thanks to her aura, but it was strong enough to knock back and rendered her unconscious. Cinder grinned as she hobbled towards the fallen rose, a blade of glass forming in her left hand as she cackled madly, her sanity all but lost to her.

"Y-You pest's just kept coming?" she cackled again as she dragged her leg with her, the glass blade scratching the floor as she slowly made her way to Ruby. "I've had just about enough of you! Time to go bed little Rose!" she moved towards her, all while Jaune could only watch helplessly.

"RUBY! NO!" Jaune yelled as he desperately willed his broken body to move. He only managed to get back on his knees, before he fell face first to the ground and blood sputtered violently from his body.

 _'Gah!_ _Damn it! Damn it! Is this really all I have left?!'_ he screamed in his mind as he forced his body to move. _'Come one you stupid body, move!_ ' small sparks of electricity surged inside his boy as his muscles and armour pulsed with a yellow light.

' _Move...move...'_ the electricity surged through his bones, struck at his muscles and surged around his brain as he struggled to raise his body off the floor.

' _Move...Move...Move damn it!'_ he glared up as Cinder now stood over Ruby's from, her face was innocent and peaceful, completely unaware of the monster that now stood over her. An electric light sprung forth as his eyes were encumbered in an electric yellow haze.

' _DAMN IT! MOVE ALREADY!'_

His fist slammed into the ground as he quickly grasped his sword in hand and glared at the woman as she now stood over Ruby's prone form. The glass sword raised above her head as she snarled in delight.

"Good night...little red..." but then she stopped as Ruby's silver eyes peeked through her lids. But this was not what caused her to stop, what stopped her was the small light that flickered in the centre of her pupil. A small white flame, dancing in the centre as Cinder recoiled in fear.

"...No, it's Impossible...it can't be...you're...you're-" Suddenly a loud roar and pounding feet sounded behind her as she spun around in shock, only to feel a sharp pain in her chest as she was met with powerful yellow eyes glaring at her.

She slowly looked down as she saw a golden hilt buried deep in her chest, and the hands of one Jaune Arc as he held the blade in his blood-covered hands. The metal sword that has existed for seventeen generations of warriors was now stabbed straight through her body. The blade protruded out of her back as the blade pierced the hollow heart mark on her back and slowly leaking with rich crimson blood.

She made a gasping choke as she stared in horror at the blade in her chest, only to scream loudly as Jaune lifted the blade, and her, above his head and walked towards the centre of the room. Jaune roared in anger and fury as he sunk the blade into the middle of the destroyed tower.

She released a choked cry as the blade punctured the ground and pinned her to the floor. But he was not done as white and yellow aura surrounded his arm and a gauntlet took shape over his blood covered fist and he slammed it into the pommel of his blade, driving the sword further into the ground. She desperately struggled and grabbed at the blade that now protruded from her chest and pinned her to the floor.

Jaune, however, collapsed to his knees once again as he vomited a torrent of blood from his lips. The last bit of energy he managed to conjure up from his soul was waning as he could feel all the pain that his body held back...

Now his body could move no more, and he had no strength left to fight...his time was up.

Cinder choked and gagged on her blood as she stared in horror at the blade that pinned her to the floor. Tears streaking down her face as she numbly and savagely grasped at the sword in her bosom.

"No...No..." she softly whispered as she stared at the blade and the moon that hung over the dark night sky. "N-No! No! No! No! NO! NO! NO! NO! This-! This wasn't meant to happen! This is not what I was promised! She promised me that this was not my fate! This is not my Destiny!" she screamed and raged as Jaune looked at her and chuckled.

"Destiny? Fate?" he chuckled as Cinder turned her head sharply to face him, "You actually believe that crap?" he chuckled once more but coughed a trickle of blood from his lips.

"For someone who was so confident about winning, you sure do whine like a child when you lose...it's honestly quite pathetic really..." Jaune mocked slightly as Cinder glared at him. "You claimed that victory was your destiny, that somehow you would be victorious this day...because it was your Destiny? That it was our Fate to lose...don't make me laugh..." his breathing became laboured as he could feel the last embers of his life flicking like a flame.

"But do you want to know something funny? This power I have, this...Final Inheritance...it was on a time limit..." the world seemed to stop as Cinder stared at the boy, her face that had been contorted in pain, was blank as she stared at his grinning face.

"W-what?" Jaune nodded as he looked down at his bloodied hand.

"Yeah, the thing I forgot to mention about Final Inheritance, is that while it gives me...a significant boost in power, the payoff, however? Is that as soon as my Aura is completely gone...my life is forfeit...and I die from my wounds..." he then looked at her with the biggest shit eating grin came upon his face.

"It's funny...if you had just run away, or finished me off the moment you had me pinned to that pillar...you would have actually won and you wouldn't be dying..." he breathed heavily as he laughed at her horrified face.

"Isn't that a cruel twist of Fate? You would have won...if hadn't underestimated me...what does your Destiny say about that?"

Cinder could only gaze in silent horror as she stared at the dying boys grinning face. It was the first time in so long that she had ever been outsmarted, the first time she had ever been defeated in her entire life. She could find no words to speak, no justification on what the boy had told her, no excuse she could make to justify her loss. The fact still remained, she lost, because had underestimated her opponent again...

She had been beaten

A great rage built up within her as her she snarled angrily at the boy, no at the man before her, as for the second time in her entire life she had lost calm composure and adopted a look of utter rage.

"You! You insignificant lowly worm! You think you've won! You think you've saved anyone, just because you've beaten me! Is that what you think! You think that with my death your friends will be safe!' she roared and raged as she reached out with her one arm to the boy as if to claw that grinning look off his face.

"You haven't changed anything! I am not the only one she sent! There are others that will succeed where I have failed! Other that will bring this world to its knees! And send all that you care for into utter ruin!" she hollowed in complete anger at the one only other conscious person left on the tower.

"And there will be no one to stop us! Not you! Not that silver eyed girl! No one!" she screamed as Jaune listened to her rage, a look of confusion in his eyes as the woman ranted and raved. "But I will not die! Not yet! Not until I take you with me!" she yelled as she thrust her hand forward, excepting a ball of fire to be thrown at the boys face...

Except nothing happened.

Cinder stared in confusion as she gazed at her hand, "What? Why isn't it?-!" she stopped as small orange cracks began to open in her palm. "What?" more cracks began to appear and spread across her arm as a searing hot pain began to flood her body.

"W-What is this? What's happening?! What's going on! A-AH!" she yelled before screaming in pain. The cracks spread further across her body as small orange lights began to seep through the cracks.

Jaune could only watch as her body withered and writhed in pain, as the cracks spread across her. Then a pulse of orange energy blasted off her, as a section of her body began to bulge and bloat into a mass of flesh. Another pulse blasted off her body as another section of her body bulged, the sword in her chest slowly sinking into the flesh as her body began to become a mass of cracks and bloated flesh.

' _What the hell? What's happening to her?'_ Jaune could only say as he watched the once proud and beautiful woman, slowly turn into a horrible form of bloated flesh. "Is this...is this because of that power she took?" he questioned as he could only watch the horror before him. Suddenly a small moan was heard as he turned his head to Ruby as she managed to finally awaken.

"Jaune?" she muttered before her eyes shot open, "Jaune!" she yelled as she quickly ran over to her injured friend.

"Are you ok? What's going on? And what the hell is that?!" she quickly said as she pointed to the mass of bloated and glowing flesh.

"I-I don't know, but I think she's about to explode!"

"She?! Explode?!" Ruby examined as Jaune grabbed her wrist.

"No time! Just get out of here now!" Jaune yelled as he tried to push away from him, but she only shook her head as she grabbed him by his shoulders.

"Not without you!" she exclaimed as she desperately dragged the boy across the floor. A trail of blood smeared across the floor as Ruby continued to drag the helpless Arc towards the elevators.

"Ruby you have to go! You won't be able to escape in time! Leave me!" the girl shook her head as she continued to drag him.

"No! I'm not leaving you behind!" she yelled at him, but tripped on a rock and fell backwards. But she didn't care as she just got up off the floor and picked up Jaune again.

Cinder continued to scream in pain as light now shot from her eyes and her screams echoed at the top of the tower, for all of Vale to hear. Another violent wave of energy shot off her body as the pulses began to quicken, signalling that she was about to explode. Jaune growled in annoyance as he turned back to the hooded girl.

"RUBY! I TOLD YOU TO LET ME GO!" he yelled as she tried to sling his arm over her shoulder.

"AND I TOLD YOU, I AM NOT LEAVING YOU!" she yelled back as they hobbled towards the elevator shaft, but another wave blasted and flung them both onto the floor. The waves becoming more violent as the pair could hear nothing but Cinders pain-filled screams.

Jaune growled as he desperately tried to think of a way to get Ruby out of the tower, but he did not have enough strength to throw her from the tower. And she did not have her weapon to assure her safe landing. Suddenly he noticed a large crack in the floor as he could see straight down to the next floor. He quickly glanced at his right arm as fragments of his armour still remained on his body.

And that was when he got an idea...

"Ruby! Help me up! Quickly!" he ordered as Ruby Quickly grabbed him and pulled him to his knees. He then wrapped his left arm around her waist as he pulled her close to his chest. In any other circumstance, she would have been blushing at the contact, but she managed to suppress it as the boy raised his right arm and saw the armour converge on his one fist.

"HOLD ON!" he yelled as he sent his fist towards the floor as a large crack spread across the floor. The floor beneath them collapsed as they both fell to the second floor.

But because of the Dragons rage from before, the structure was weak as the floor beneath them also collapsed and they started to plummet down the inside of the tower. Jaune quickly held Ruby close to his body as his back continued to slam into the floors below. His armour slowly disappearing as they continued to plummet down the tower. Until finally they crashed into the main lobby as Jaune had managed to use his body to shield Ruby, and cushioned her fall.

"Jaune!" she yelled as she feared that he had perished when they hit the ground floor. But she sighed in relief as she saw that his armour had protected him, and absorbed most of the impact. A loud scream echoed at the top of the tower, as Ruby quickly got up and grabbed Jaune under his arms, dragging him from the lobby.

"Come on! We've got to move!" she said as she placed his arm around and desperately limped her way out of the tower.

At the top of the tower, Cinders body had become a large bulge of flesh and meat as the cracks of orange light had spread across her entire boy. Her face now such masses of bloated flesh that she could no longer scream in agony. In these moments of her life, she began to think back on where the plan had gone wrong, where it was that she had failed to foresee such an event that would lead to her imminent demise.

And in all those events, it all came back to one simple fact, one simple mistake that she had repeated throughout her final moments. One flaw that she had failed to recognise in this game of chess...

She underestimated a lonely pawn

And then, her body exploded in a rage of fire, consuming the entire top half of the Beacon Tower and sending a large shockwave that reverberated across the city.

Ruby barely managed to get behind cover with Jaune as the shockwave of dust and light swept past them like a gale of wind.

Pyrrha quickly used her shield to block the light and shield her from the dust but was slowly pushed back, while Weiss managed to summon a dome of ice to defend her from the blast.

Qrow managed to land halfway between the docks and the tower, as the light nearly blinded him and the dust the threatened to knock him from the sky.

The students at the docks had to duck and hide from the light as those closest to the blaze shielded their eyes from the blinding light and choking smoke.

When the dust finally settled, an eerie silence blanketed over the city as students and teachers slowly emerged from the dust and smoke. Pyrrha, who had been blown away by the blast, was the first to emerge as she quickly waved her shield and blew away the dust that surrounded her. A sense of worry and fear gripped her heart as she searched through the smoke and dust.

"Jaune! Jaune!" she yelled as she could not see the tower or the school amongst the drifting dust. The sound of coughing caught her attention as she faced towards her left as she quickly ran through the dust.

"Jaune! Jaune! Are you ok-!" she stumbled back as she slammed into a dome of ice, falling flat on her back as she groaned on the floor. "Ouch, that hurt," Pyrrha said as she held her head.

"Pyrrha?" she looked up to the voice, as she soon faced the white hair of Weiss Schnee, Jaune's former crush and best friend of Ruby Rose.

"Weiss? What are you doing here, and where's Jaune?" she asked as the white-haired heiress helped the Spartan off the ground.

"I don't know, Ruby went up to the tower and ordered me to go back to the docks. But I couldn't make it with all the Grimm in the way, now I can't see anything in front of me" she said as she waved her hand through the dust.

Suddenly a small light began to glow dimly from the dust as they craned their heads up to the light. Their eyes then widened in shock and horror as the entire top half of the tower was consumed in flames. Pieces of rubble and debris fell from the tower and crashed into the ground as the tower burned like a beacon in the night sky.

"JAUNE/RUBY!" both girls yelled as they feared the worst.

"Hey! You two!" a voice spoke out as both girls turned to see Qrow as he walked towards the pair. "Where the hell is Ruby?" he asked as Weiss pointed to the tower and his eyes widened in fright. "Shit! You two get back to the docks now! I'll find them and get them back to the docks!" he commanded as he deployed his scythe and blew away a large section of the dust.

"But-" Pyrrha tried to say until the man glared at her.

"Now!" he ordered as he ran through the dust, towards the large tower that was burning in the night. Weiss could only nod as she grabbed Pyrrha's arm.

"Pyrrha we have to go", she said as the redhead shook her head and faced the tower.

"But Jaune is-"

"We can't do much until Ruby's Uncle finds them, besides there might be more Grimm around and I'm out of Dust and Aura, and I can only guess that you're down to your last mag..." she said as she held her arm and pleaded with the girl. "Pyrrha...I'm worried too...but we can't do anything right now...please, we have to go," the girl looked reluctant but agreed as they both ran to the docks. She spared one last glance to the tower as she hoped and prayed that the boy she loved, had not sacrificed himself for the greater good...

She could not live with herself if he died because of her...she wouldn't...she couldn't

* * *

Base of the Tower

* * *

Rubble and debris littered the area as Ruby coughed and gasped at the dust that drifted around her. She had used her body and cloak to cover the injured boy as the wave of dust and smoked blasted against them. She grunted as she slowly got off Jaune and held her stomach in pain, the same area where Cinder had struck her with the lightning as she finally managed to register the pain in her gut.

She looked up at the billowing flames of the ruined tower and she sighed in relief.

"W-we made it...I can't believe it but...I-I think we made it, we did it Jaune!...Jaune?" the boy did not answer as she had hoped and it sent a spike of fear down her spine.

"Jaune?" she turned her head to the boy as he lay still and motionless.

"Jaune? Jaune talk to me?" she moved over to him as she hovered over his face. "Come on say something? Anything? Jaune?" silence still hung in the air as she stared at his chest that had stopped moving entirely.

"Oh...I get it...I get it now...this is a prank, isn't it? You're just-You're just pretending, aren't you? W-well you can stop now, it's over now, you'll-you'll wake up and we'll-we'll all have a laugh and you'll...you'll..." a sniffle was caught in her throat as she placed her hands on his chest, his face now covered in dust and dried blood as she hoped that he would open his eyes. She couldn't finish her sentence as tears began to streak down her face.

"Jaune? Wake up?" she shook his body again as more tears caressed her cheek. "Please wake up? Please...I don't-" she choked on her word as shook his body more vigorously as the tears silently landed on his face. "I don't want to lose you too...please...wake up..." she rested her head on his chest as she silently wept amongst the ruins of Beacon.

Soft footsteps were heard from behind her as she looked up to see her uncle, standing over them with a blank look on his face. He cast his gaze to his niece as she choked back a sob and looked at her uncle.

"Uncle Qrow...Jaune...Jaune is..." she couldn't finish the words as more tears left her eyes. The man knelt near the boy as he placed his finger on his neck, and then on his wrist as he checked for a pulse. A moment passed and he looked back to Ruby as he sadly shook his head.

"Sorry kid...but he's gone..." he hung his head as the girl only stared at her uncle and then at the boys resting face.

And like that, a river of emotion burst forth as Ruby wept tears of sorrow. She clutched her cloak tight to her body as she was wracked with grief. Her uncle could only look at his crying niece as he moved over to her and wrapped his arms around her crying form. She cried and wept into his chest as the man did his best to comfort the small girl.

In all his years of being a huntsman, fighting Grimm and watching whole towns burn to the ground and watching the people closest to him pass away. Nothing hurt him more than watching his niece cry her heart out, over the loss of her first friend. He slowly let go of the girl as he took off his cloak and wrapped it around the boy's chest, either out of respect or to spare his niece the sight of his grievous wounds.

"Come on Ruby...let's get back to the others..." the small huntress nodded solemnly as her uncle picked up her friend and carried him towards the docks.

* * *

Beacon Docks

* * *

Pyrrha and Weiss had just returned to the docks as Nora was the first to spot them. "Pyrrha! Weiss! You're alright!" she yelled as she managed to grab the attention of everyone present. The pair made it over to the group as Nora vigorously embraced her teammate while Ren placed a hand on her shoulder.

"We're glad to see you're alright...where Jaune and Ruby?" Pyrrha only shook her head as she looked at her friends.

"Ruby's uncle told us to head back to the docks, he said that he would find them and bring them here. Is he not back yet?" Ren only shrugged as he truly did not know the fate of his friends. A shuttle landed as Ironwood and Glynda quickly exited the shuttle. Ironwood with his cybernetic limbs exposed and Glynda with cuts and bruises across her flawless skin.

"General Ironwood? Miss Goodwitch? What are you doing here?" Pyrrha asked as she was surprised to see them arriving at the docks.

"We sent Qrow ahead of us, to see if he could assist the young Arc. Where is he? Has he and Mister Arc returned yet?" Ironwood asked as once again, the redhead could not answer her question. Suddenly footsteps were heard as everyone turned towards the tower, expecting to see a battered but victorious hero.

What they saw instead, would forever haunt them for the rest of their days.

A silence hung in the air as the two emerging figures walked towards the pier, Ruby with her hood drawn over her head as she refused to look at anyone as she trailed behind her uncle. The man himself was carrying a person wrapped in a small cloak that covered his chest and bound his arms to his chest. Silence met them as they slowly passed the looks of horror and remorse.

The teachers, Port and Oobleck, lowered their heads in a sign of respect as the boy was carried past them. The portly man gripped his fist tight at the similar memory that passed over his mind, a memory he never wished to repeat.

Glynda had to cover her mouth to stop her gasp at the sight of one of her students so bloodied and beaten, sent waves of nausea and regret in the pits of her stomach. Ironwood could only look at the boy as lowered his head slightly and grasped his metal fist tightly, the metal creaking slightly as he blamed himself for not foreseeing this tragedy to happen.

The students could only look stunned as the man carried their fellow student past them. Coco, Velvet, Fox and Yatsuhashi had varied reactions as Fox and Yatsu bowed their heads in respect. While Coco could only turn her head from the sight if only to comfort Velvet, as the bunny-eared girl grasped her friend for support.

Sun looked away while Neptune stared wide-eyed at the boy who had given him the courage to dance with Weiss. Weiss, however, could only stare numbly as memories of a dorky smile and cheerful face passed over her mind. A deep regret borrowed into her soul as she felt genuine remorse for never accepting one date from the fallen knight and for the first time in a long time...she felt truly cold.

Yang and Blake had eyes wide as Qrow passed, only catching a glimpse of Jaune's bloodied face as Yang looked on in horror. The woman who had manipulated her, caused her to lose her arm had now just taken the life of one of her friends...how much more would she lose?

Blake, on the other hand, hung her head as she felt guilty for his passing. The White Fang had taken Yang's arm, had attacked the school forever staining the name of the Faunus people. Now, they had assisted the woman who took away from her one of the only few people who accepted her for who she truly was...

She would never forgive them.

Ren had eyes wide as Nora stifled a gasp in her throat, small tears brimming at the corners of her eyes as the man slowly passed them. She tried to reach out to him but hesitated as if afraid that a simple touch would do more harm. She trembled as Ren placed an arm around her shoulder, trying his best to comfort his oldest friend. But no amount of comfort or embrace could change the fact that their friend was dead...

That their brother was dead

Pyrrha stared with blank eyes as Qrow stood before her and gently laid the body before her. She fell to Her knees as her body trembled at the sight of his bloodied and broken face. The sight of all that blood and all the pain he must have gone trough tore her heart apart. She could find no words to say, as she stared at the body of the boy she loved. Ruby knelt beside her as tears could be seen caressing the small girls face.

"Pyrrha...I'm so...so sorry," she said with a trembling voice as Pyrrha continued to stare at her partner.

She reached out with trembling fingers as she slowly caressed the side of his face, the deep cut he had received from Cinder was caked in dried and matted blood. She cupped his face in her palm as small tears fell from her eyes, landing at the bottom of his closed eyes and slowly streaked down his face. Giving the illusion that he had been crying as well.

"Jaune..." she said with a voice that was easily betrayed the hurt and pain that was wracking her soul. She picked the boy up and hugged his head close to her chest as she embraced her partner and the only boy that she had ever loved.

"I'm...I'm sorry...I'm so sorry"

The morning light slowly crept through the destroyed mountain, as the warm light slowly shone over the battlefield. The Grimm lay broken and defeated as the people slowly emerged from their broken homes and cheered at the knowledge that they had survived such a great tragedy. But for those at the dock of the destroyed school, surrounded by mourning faces and tear covered eyes the students wept at the loss of one of their own.

This was a day that would be remembered throughout history as the day the people of Vale pushed back against a terrible threat. But at the cost of one of their greatest heroes. It was on this day, at five thirty in the morning.

Jaune Arc, the Savior of Vale and Slayer of the Fallen Maiden...Died

To be continued...

* * *

 **And scene. Well, it took me a long time but I finally finished Chapter Two of Remnant Knight. This took me a long time to write, and I hope you all enjoyed it. And for those of you how are wondering why I had Cinder exploded like that. Well, my theory is because she never really inherited the power, but stole it from the real maiden, the power doesn't fully agree with her.**

 **The only reason it hasn't is that I reckon the symbol on her back is like a seal that holds and controls the power. But with her body sustaining that much damage, the seal can't control the power and thus destroyed her...**

 **Plus it was satisfying to have her explode like Cell from DBZ...so satisfying. And what of the fate of Jaune? Is he truly dead, or does fate have something else in store for the Knight?**

 **Well find out Next time On The Remnant Knight Chapter III: The Path of Defiance**


	3. Chapter III: The Path of Defiance

RWBY: The Remnant Knight

There are many paths in life, some that are set in stone and some that are in a state of flux...then there are the ones that defy the course of fate. This is one such path, where the course of destiny is changed and the path of a Knight is forged in blood, steel and magic. This is the Rise of the Remnant Knight.

* * *

Chapter III: The Path of Defiance

* * *

Smoke and fire drifted from the top of the tower, as men and woman looked up in silence at the event that had transpired. Only a few hours ago the city of Vale had been plunged into chaos. The Grimm were tearing apart the streets, the White Fang was slaughtering any human in their path, while a City was close to being consumed by darkness...

All seemed lost

Then a hero appeared, who revealed a sinister plot to overthrow the Four Kingdoms and exposed the truth to the world. The hero stood tall against the conspirator, clad in a suit of white armour and vanquished both the dreaded Grimm Dragon and the Mastermind of the Chaos in a single blow.

The world saw him as a saviour, a hero that would be remembered for all time as the Knight in shining armour that saved them from an evil that threatened to tear them apart.

But this was not the case for those who were closest to them, for them they had lost someone precious to them. Someone, who was a leader, a friend, a brother and a lover, someone that they would never see again.

No matter how hard they wished it would not be...

The survivors of the Battle of Beacon sat in silence, as the day's events began to weigh heavily upon them. The stuff they had seen, the lives that had been lost, and the heroic actions of one young man were constantly on their minds. It was a lot for the young generation to process, especially with the fact that one of their own was dead.

They heard the soldiers whispering amongst themselves of Jaune's actions, saying that he sacrificed himself to save them all and that he would be remembered as a Hero amongst the people. But the question that was raging on everyone's mind was this...

Was it all worth it?

Weiss was the first to speak as she held herself tight. "I-I still can't believe it...how...how did this even happen? I thought after Roman was put away we dealt with this whole conspiracy thing?"

"Clearly, we were wrong. Roman was just a diversion so that our focus wouldn't be on her. She tricked us into drawing in the Grimm and made us doubt our own abilities...and even ourselves" Yatsuhasi said as they all spared a glance to Yang.

Yang had once again passed out due to the pain and doctors had to give her another dose of morphine to ease her. Blake sat by her side as her hair shadowed her face and hid her eyes while she held the girl's only hand in her own.

"And it would have worked for the most part had Arc-! Had Jaune not found out the truth." Fox stopped himself as he laced his fingers together. "Had he not stopped her we would have lost today...though I fear the price of victory was too much."

Velvet held her knees to her chest and shuddered at the memory of the woman on the monitor. She shuddered at the memory of her brutal and vicious butchering of her freshmen.

It was horrifying, and she wished that she never had to see it again.

"Yeah man..." Sun said as he grasped his staff tight. "I mean things could have gotten a lot worse if Jaune hadn't stopped her...but what the heck happened after the feed went static? I mean, is it possible that she could still be...alive?" he said as a sliver of fear crawled down his spine.

Ruby shook her head within her hood as she continued to stare at the cracked and broken stones.

"No, she's not...I saw her die myself..." a hint of venom present in her voice that shocked some of them.

"I can't remember exactly what happened after I passed out, but I remember waking up and seeing her pinned to the ground with a sword in her chest and Jaune kneeling next to her. Then she just exploded, like she was some sort of bomb or something? I don't know why she did that, and I don't really care...I'm just glad that she is dead...and _better_ off for it".

The others were slightly shocked at the young girl's satisfaction that someone was dead. But in truth, they were all just as glad as well, especially after what she did to everyone in Vale...and to their friend. Coco sighed as she turned to Ren.

"How is she taking it?" Ren shook his head as he gestured over to the left.

"About as well as you expect" they glanced over to Pyrrha as she still held the body of Jaune Arc. Small sobs could be heard as she begged and pleaded for something that would bring him back to her, only to fall on deaf ears.

"She's refusing to let anyone near her, or Jaune's body, in fear that we'd take him away from her. I don't blame her for thinking that, especially after all the stuff that just happened. But there is not much we can do to help her at this point, but to let her grieve in her own way, besides..." he looked down to Nora as she held the boy by the waist and rested her head on his lap. Small tears stained his pants as the girl softly sobbed into his embrace.

"She's not the only one dealing with Jaune's...passing...we're all trying to cope, she just needs more time than anyone." Another bout silence blanketed them as they thought about the boy who died to save them all.

Ren silently curled his fist as he thought of how he had failed to save his friend when he needed them the most. He kept remembering back to the battle, where he and Pyrrha split off from the group and followed Ozpin into the tower, and he wondered what if he and Nora had followed Jaune and Pyrrha into the Tower?

Maybe they might have had a chance to prevent Jaune's death?

But the more he thought about it, the more he realised that he would not have survived against such a person. The only reason Jaune managed to kill her was that she underestimated him and unlocked a power that gave him a serious boost in strength if only to cost him his life in the end. His sacrifices sparked something inside Ren that day, as he then silently vowed to himself that he would never allow that to happen ever again...

No matter the cost.

Meanwhile away from the others, the teachers gathered together as they began to discuss what their next step should be. But the past events had put a strain on their patience and emotions were high in the air.

In short, it was not going well.

"With the CCT down we have no communication with the other Kingdoms! We _need_ to send a team over to report the situation to Atlas and have them send more troops! We need to secure Vale as quickly as possible before anything else happens!" Ironwood argued as Qrow scoffed.

"And we don't have time to wait for another one of your 'Glorious Fleets' to arrive from Atlas! We don't even know how long those Grimm are going to be scared off for? Days, hours? What we need to do is _recall all the huntsman_ in the area and regroup here at Beacon. Then we can gather our wounded, fortify our defences and make sure those Grimm don't come back!" Qrow growled as the man glared at him.

"I'm thinking rationally here Qrow! Beacon is destroyed and Atlas is the closest Kingdom to Vale, with the technology available to repair the CCT as soon as possible! Besides with only short burst radios, we won't be able to get a clear message over to Atlas, Huntsman or any of the other Kingdoms! We need troops in the city to help us to re-establish order and security for the citizens of Vale!" Qrow once again scoffed at this as shook his head.

"That's what you thought about your pot and pan robots and look what happened to them!" he pointed to the destroyed Atlesian Knights and the sunken warships of the Atlesian Navy, with the only ones remaining in the sky were small flagships and few dozen medical shuttles.

"They were taken over and used against us by the enemy, great job there General Tin Man! How do you think the people are going to react to having more troops suddenly shipped over from Atlas? Epically after that little fiasco with the robots turning on them and slaughtering anyone close to them!?" he chuckled slightly as got up in Ironwoods face.

"You think they are going to be trusting anything that comes out of Atlas and just forget that? If you believe that then you are a bigger idiot then I thought tin-man!" Ironwood growled slightly as he butted heads with the reaper.

"That was not my fault! I had no idea she planted a virus into my personal scroll and used it to hack the Knights! I am not at fault here!"

"You keep saying that, but you were the one who decided to put the lives of everyone in Vale on the loyalty of soulless and mindless machines! Tell me Iron-butt! How did that work out for you?!" the two glared at each other as small sparks of electricity shot through their eyes.

"Enough! Will you two knock it off already! We already have enough problems to deal with, without you two acting like children!" Glynda said as she forced the two men apart as she pointed to the city.

"We have nearly half the population of Vale dead, with who knows how much more still unaccounted for! We'll be facing numerous international backlashes with the number foreign students that died under our watch! We were charged with protecting them and we failed them!" she shook her head as she glared at them.

"And even _if_ we could reestablish a connection with the other Kingdoms, they will be too busy fortifying their own defences in case something like this happens to them. So like it or not Qrow, Atlas troops are all we are getting right now!"

"But we've got bigger problems than that. Ozpin is missing and we have no idea of where he is, or who took him in the first place or even why they would take him? So I would really appreciate it if you two knuckleheads stopped fighting amongst yourselves and act like adults! Is that clear!" the two men were scared stiff as the vigorously nodded their heads.

Port and Oobleck gulped in fear as they stood on the sidelines at Glynda's usual tongue lashing.

"Glad we stayed out of this one, huh old friend?" Oobleck nodded his head as he tried his best to not gain the attention of the strict vice-principal. She then sighed as she adjusted her glasses and looked sadly at the many students and civilians around her.

"Besides...now is not the time to be arguing amongst ourselves, we've already lost so much today and we can't afford to be divided now. Otherwise Mister Arc-" she choked back a sob as she continued her speech.

"Otherwise, Jaune Arc's sacrifice will have been for nothing, and that is the last thing any of us want right now..."

At the mention of his name, the teachers looked down as shame hung over their heads. Deep regret surging in their chests, as they felt responsible for not saving the young Arc, who managed to accomplish in a night what they had failed to do for years and prevented the Fall of Vale.

"...How are we going to tell his family?" Glynda said as she spied a glance over to the grieving redhead as Ironwood sighed and crossed his arms.

"As far as the rest of the world knows, Jaune Arc's fate is currently unknown, and the only people who know are currently present and his closest friends. But in no time soon the entire city will know, and it would be wrong for the family to find out from the lips of gossip then rather from our own. We need to notify them as soon as possible," they nodded at this, as they knew it was their responsibility to notify his family.

But who amongst them would deliver the news?

"I'll tell them," Port Said as the others turned to face him.

"I may not be have been as closely affiliated with his family in the past, but I was at least friends with his grandfather. It's only right that I tell them...I just never thought I would have to inform them of another Arc's death...fate is indeed a cruel mistress," he hung his head as Ironwood nodded.

"I'll organise a transport to get you and the bod- ...and the young man back to his home. It's the least I can do...Qrow is right...I am responsible for this," Glynda placed a hand on his metal shoulder as the General nodded to Goodwitch.

"And what of the girl, Ozpin's chosen champion? How are we going to deal with her? It's not like she's going to be letting go of him anytime soon," Qrow pointed to Pyrrha, who continued to clutch the boy to her chest.

"I'll talk to her, maybe get her to see reason and allow her to travel with you if that is alright?" the man nodded as the General walked over to the broken champion. Qrow shook his head as he could already tell what was going to happen next.

Pyrrha continued to sob into the chest of the young man who had saved their lives, into the chest of the man that sacrificed himself to save Vale and all its citizens. But in truth went up there to save her, even if it meant sacrificing himself. That was all that mattered to him, and that is what hurt Pyrrha the most. That he was so willing to stop her from doing the exact same thing, that he would take her place instead.

It tore her heart apart.

Ironwood stood silently over the pair as he cast his eyes over the many faces that looked upon the young boy. Faces like Qrow's niece who had tears running down her face, even as she hid it in the darkness of her hood. To those of his own team as they did their best to comfort each other, but could not stop themselves from weeping at the sight of their fallen friend.

He looked down at the boy whose face was now a peaceful mask of serenity, as he had left the mortal world behind and entered a better place. Where he would fell no pain and would be welcomed as a hero amongst his ancestors.

But his passing would forever leave behind a mark upon their friends, one that would never go away. Ironwood walked over as he knelt down beside her and placed a hand on her shoulder, as he tried his best to comfort the crying girl.

"Miss Nikos...I'm sorry, I truly am sorry for your loss...but if it's any consolation, he sacrificed himself for the greater good and died a hero." Pyrrha suddenly stopped weeping as she turned her head slightly towards the General, her eyes shadowed by her hair as she continued to stare at Jaune's face.

"...Sorry? Sacrificed?" she said with a cold tone as the man flinched back slightly.

"You think...you think I wanted him to save me? You think I find _comfort_ in the fact that my friend...the man I loved _sacrificed_ himself, for what? The greater good?" she looked at the bloodied face of her love, and stroke back a strand of his hair.

"Jaune didn't sacrifice himself for the greater good. He went up there to stop me from doing something _stupid_! Because I felt it was my fault she stole that power in the first place! Because I didn't choose to take that power when you showed it to me! If Jaune hadn't stopped me..." She looked up as her eyes glared into his.

"If you all hadn't shown me that t-thing! I wouldn't have tried to stop her! Jaune wouldn't have taken my place! If it wasn't for you and Ozpin, he'd still be alive!" she hissed at the man as her emerald eyes scorned him like venom.

"It's _your fault_ he's dead! Because you all dragged me into a war I was never meant to be apart of! He's dead because of **_you!_ "** she glared at the man who stood shocked at this.

"Miss Nikos, I can assure we had no idea that-!" Qrow placed a hand on his shoulder and shook his head.

"James, not now, she's not thinking straight and just letting her grief take over. Just let her grieve and we'll come back to her later. Besides, she's right in a way, we should never have involved her. We shouldn't have involved any of them..." The General sighed as he stood up and spared on last glance to the boy as Pyrrha hugged him tighter to her chest.

Ironwood left to organise what was left of his men, while Qrow looked at the two before he walked away and retrieved a metal flask from his back pocket and opened the silver lid. He downed the liquid in one gulp and was glad that he could find comfort in the drink after such an event, even if it was only temporary. Looking back he glanced the boy as he left to talk with the remaining teachers.

"Sorry kid...thanks for fixing our mistake...just wish you didn't have to die doing it." he turned and left as Pyrrha continued to grieve over her fallen friend.

Pyrrha continued to hold him close as she tried desperately to keep what little warmth he had left as he slowly turned into a cold and lifeless corpse. But by now his skin was pale as snow and the blood that had covered his body was dry with small fragments peeling from his skin and blowing away into the wind.

There was no hope of coming back from this, and Pyrrha knew it.

If only she had listened to him and run - she told herself over and over again. If only she had run away with him liked he begged her to instead of trying to fix a mistake that was never hers to correct. He would still be alive, and they would still have each other.

She lightly rested her forehead against his own as she softly wept for his passing. "Jaune...please...please...don't leave me..." she closed her eyes as he made one final pray.

"...Come back to me..."

* * *

Unknown

* * *

Dark blue eyes slowly opened as Jaune Arc found himself lying on a field of grass as the sky above him shifted between day and night. He slowly sat up, as he expected to feel a great amount of pain. But instead felt nothing as he looked down at his chest, only to be shocked to find that he was completely fine. Even his clothes were restored to their original form as if they had never been destroyed.

"What the? How in the..." his mind then clicked as memories of the battle came rushing back to him, and the final moments when the blast struck and he felt his heart stop beating, which could only mean one thing.

"That's right...I'm dead...I died after we got out of the lobby...but where am I? It looks familiar?"

"Glad to see you caught on quick enough..." a voice spoke as Jaune instantly recognised it and turned to face his grandfather walking towards him.

"Grandpa? What are you doing here? Where are we, and what is this place?" he asked as he looked around at the ever-changing sky, that shifted from dusk and dawn. "Why does it look so familiar?" he said as he looked around.

"We are in the Void, the same place I talked to you when you were on the verge of death," Jaune turned back to his grandfather as he explained.

"The Void?"

"It's the space between the living and the dead, where the souls of the departed leave their mortal forms and ascend in the Kingdom Eternal. But before they can do that they pass through here, a test to see if they are worthy to enter," Jaune looked at the man in confusion as the man chuckled.

"What? Did you think it would look like some sort of realm of darkness with a never-ending mist covering the ground so thick, you can't even see your own feet? With a cloaked reaper ushering you into the light?" he chuckled as he shook his head.

"Who the heck would want to walk through something like that? No one! You'd be scared back to life by something like that! Hahaha!"

The man laughed as Jaune stared at his grandfather before he began to chuckle and laugh with his grandfather. The pair continued to laugh as Jaune managed to get back up on his feet, brushing off the dirt and grass on his pants as he looked over to his grandfather as a solemn look came onto his face.

"So...I'm really dead then, aren't I?" the man nodded as he too gained a solemn look on his face.

"Unfortunately yes, you came here just like I did...through that," he said as he pointed behind him as Jaune turned around and gasped in shock at what he saw.

Behind him stood a large dark grey metal door, with the engraving of a large skeleton on the door, with large skeletal arms holding the doorway in place with thick chains wrapped around the door and three bolts holding it shut. Jaune walked around the gate as he noticed that there was nothing on the other side.

"It's called the 'Gateway of Death', it's the portal in which everyone passes through when they die. It takes them here to be judged in the Void and sentence's them to one of the two afterlife's," he looked at the door as its massive frame stood out amongst the grassy field. Jaune looked confused as he turned back to his grandfather.

"Judged? You mean...I might not get into..." the man shook his head as he smiled softly.

"Relax Jaune, if you were judged as such you would not be here," he spread his arm out as he gestured to the landscape.

"The Void judges a person's life through their actions and their decisions. To those who were good and kind, they are sent here to 'Peaceful Ending' where wounds are healed and pain is taken away..." his eyes narrowed into a glare as he turned back to Jaune.

"But for those who had committed great crimes against another and felt no hint of regret or remorse a harsher punishment is given. The Gateway sends them to a less than kind place known as 'The Forsaken'. Where they are punished for their crimes, by experiencing each and every one of them, through the eyes of their victims," he said as Jaune's eyes widened at this as the thought of Cinder passed his mind.

"And for those that come through this section of the void and is judged to be worthy, they pass through that," he pointed to another door at the opposite end of the Gateway. But unlike the first, the second Gateway had a more peaceful and angelic looking with the image of a beautiful angel carved into the golden metal of the door.

"The Gateway to the Kingdom Eternal, the final resting place of all souls..." he said softly as Jaune stared in awe.

"Whoa...wait, if this the Void, then why are you here? Shouldn't you be in there too?"

"I am, however, whenever Final Inheritance is activated the souls of the previous users are drawn to the current user. Our powers and strength are funnelled through the gate into you. And when the user dies, we wait for them here for the current user, so that they can follow us through the gate." Jaune blinked, as he looked confused.

"Others?"

Several ghostly figures began to manifest around him as he spun around to see seventeen figures standing around him. Each one dressed in a different period of clothing, and each one bearing a symbol of the Arc family on their person. It was then that Jaune realised who they were, the previous users of Final Inheritance and the ancestors that gave him the strength to fight Cinder.

"We all gather here whenever a new user dies, in order to help the transition from the Void to the Kingdom more comfortable, and now it's your turn...though we've never had someone so young join us," he said sadly as one of the figures, a large man with a huge beard spoke behind him.

"He's so young, he hasn't even felt the warmth of a woman's flesh, nor the joys of fathering new life...such a shame," the man said as the other figures nodded at this. A woman with hair as gold as the sun and eyes as green as the grass beneath their feet walked up and placed her hand on the boy's shoulder.

"In either case, you have made us very proud today young Arc. You fought to the best of your abilities, to save the one you care about the most. You have earned your place amongst the halls of heroes and we gladly welcome you Jaune Arc." she turned to the Golden Gate as the doors opened up and a bright light shined through.

"Welcome...To the Kingdom Eternal..."

The light entranced Jaune as the soft sounds of laughter and the gentle breeze of the wind brought a sense of peace and tranquillity to his soul. The more he stared into the light, the more he was compelled to move towards, but hesitation stayed his feet as he felt doubt within his soul. Until a gentle hand rested on his shoulder and he looked to see the sad smiling face of his grandfather.

"You've fought hard enough and earned your rest, Jaune...its time to go..."

Jaune hesitated once again before he looked towards the light and breathed a deep breath before he began to walk towards the light. The soft sound of grass crunching beneath his feet echoed as he felt his heart hammering in his chest, as the light drew closer to him.

The ghostly figures slowly disappearing until only Cornelius remained behind to follow his grandson through the portal. He reached out with a hesitant hand as he drew closer to the portal and the images of a golden Kingdom began to beacon him. The light felt warm against his skin as the portal drew closer to him and he closed his eyes to relish in the gentle light.

In a matter of moments, he would forget about all the pain he had suffered, all the anguish he felt in his final moments and all of the fear that had gripped his heart as he was but an inch away from the light.

Soon he would be at peace...

 **' _You think you've won!?'_**

He stopped as his eyes snapped open as he stood in front of the gateway. Cornelius looked concerned as his grandson stood still. "Jaune? Are you ok?" he asked as the boy could only look blankly at the light.

 **' _You think you've saved anyone just because you've beaten me! Is that what you think!?'_**

He looked down at his hand as Cinders snarling face came back into his mind.

 **' _You think that with my death your friends will be safe!'_**

His hand began to shake as a cold sweat began to build on his brow and he slowly turned back to face the other Gateway at the large skeleton carved onto the doorway.

 **' _I am not the only one she sent! There are others that will succeed where I have failed! Others that will bring this world to its knees!'_**

He found himself back on the tower as Cinder glared and snarled at him, while she lay pinned to the floor with his family's blade. Her hate-filled eyes glaring at him as she clawed at the air before her.

 **' _And then there will be no one to stop us! Not you! Not that silver eyed girl! No one!'_**

He felt a spike of fear stab his chest as the faces of his friends and family passed through his mind as four shadowy figures descended upon them, with the form of a mysterious woman basked in shadows standing over their broken forms.

 **' _And they shall send all that you care for into utter ruin!'_**

He looked over at the doorway and ran from the gateway to the one opposite of him.

"Jaune! Where are you going?!" Cornelius yelled as Jaune ignored him and ran for the Gateway of Death. He stood before the Gateway of Death as a determined glare set upon his face and he slammed in his hands into the crack of the doorway. He struggled and pulled with all his might as he desperately tried to open the door.

"Jaune what are you doing!? The man yelled as he ran up to his grandson.

"I have to go back!" Cornelius looked confused as he watched him try to force open the gate.

"What are you talking about? Go back? Back to where, back to Earth!? Why!?" Jaune only nodded his head and tried once again to force open the gate.

"They're in danger, I have to stop them!" he grunted as he struggled to open the massive gate.

"Stop who? What are you talking about? Who's in danger? Jaune what are you talking about?"

"That woman! She said there are more like her, others that will finish what she started! That she wasn't the only one 'she sent' a-and that they'll hurt my friends! I have to go back!"

He struggled desperately as he tried to pull open the massive doorway, hoping that the large metal door would open for him. But no matter how hard he tried, no matter how hard he pulled and pushed at the door, it refused to open for him. He fell to his knees as he rested his head against the metal door as he panted and breathed heavily from the strain.

Cornelius stood behind him as he watched his grandson desperately try to open the doorway, a feat that had been attempted many times before, with no one ever succeeding. He sighed as he walked over and knelt beside the boy and placed his hand on his shoulder.

"Jaune, there's nothing you can do. Many have tried to open this door and none have ever succeeded. It's just how the world is...it's not our destiny to come back from the dead..." Jaune's hair shadowed his eyes and stare at the grass beneath him seemingly resided to his fate.

The man only sighed as he stood up and walked towards the other portal, a heavy heart weighed upon him as he remembered a time when he tried to open the doors, but failed like everyone else. That was why the other users of Final Inheritance met within the Void, to stop them from failing like the rest, to stop them from an impossible task...

"...I **_refuse_**..."

He stopped in shock as he turned back to his grandson as the boy slowly stood up from the floor and placed his hands on the crack of the Gateway.

"I **_refuse_** to believe that I can't do anything to save _my_ _friends_..."

Small wisps of aura began to form around him before an enormous spiritual pressure slammed into Cornelius and he was forced to one knee. The man shielded himself with his arm as a large gust of wind hollered in the grassy field. Completely unaware of a hooded figure, shrouded in pitch-black shadows watching them from the shade of a large oak tree.

"I **_refuse_** to believe that I'm supposed to sit back as some **_mad_ _woman_** is planning something horrible for the world!"

White aura exploded off his body as once again his white armour formed on his body. The helmet slamming shut as powerful yellow eyes glared at the door and he pulled with all his might.

"I **_refuse_** to allow **_my friends_** to go through the same pain that I experienced at the hands of that _**witch!**_ "

The metal door suddenly began to creak as Cornelius gasped in shock, while the hooded figure looked rather intrigued by the sudden noise. Jaune growled in rage as the door slowly began to creak.

"I **_refuse_** to believe that I'm supposed to just sit back and watch **_my friends_** die!"

Jaune screamed as he slowly forced the door to open as a bright light began to shine through the crack in the giant door. Cornelius looked on in shock as the massive door was slowly, but surely, opening from the brute strength that Jaune was using.

"H-he's opening the door! But how!?" it was then that he noticed strains of yellow light was leaving his body as he spun around to see several more strands of light pouring from the Gateway of the Eternal Kingdom and converge on the boy, as parts of his armour began to warp and change.

"No way...h-he's stealing the power of Final Inheritance?" he spun back around as he noticed that certain sections of his armour were slowly gaining golden edges as the symbol of the Arc family glowed brightly on his chest.

"He's using the cursed power to open the door?!" Jaune, however, didn't hear him as focused all of his power and the power that was now flowing through his body.

"And most of all! I refuse to believe in such a thing as **Destiny!** "

He yelled with a mighty roar as a large version of his armour appeared behind him and slammed its clawed hand into the door. And with one mighty pull, ripped the doors open as a bright light shined on the grassy plain. A huge gust of wind blasted across the field as the sheer amount of power was enough to make anyone stare.

But the hooded figure however almost seemed to smile as it watched the young man defy the impossible and opened the Gateway of Death.

Cornelius stared in complete awe as the massive knight held the door opened as Jaune stood at the near-blinding light of the Gateway back to earth. His armour had changed dramatically as it shone like a beacon in the now dark sky. The edges of his armour had golden edges, with the yellow jewels on the back of his hands, knees, shoulders and chest as the jewels glowed in the shining light.

"Grandpa..." Cornelius was shaken from his stupor as Jaune finally spoke to him. "Thank you, for giving me the strength to fight Cinder, because of it I was able to defeat Cinder and save the most important person in my life. And for that, I'm eternally grateful to you..."

The helmet disappeared as he slowly turned his head as Cornelius was shocked. The iris of Jaune's eyes now glowed with a small yellow light, as sections of his hair shimmered like golden flames as he smiled softly at his ancestor.

"But this is something I have to do, something I know you'd understand why I have to go against the fate of death and why it is I won't be joining you in the afterlife...not yet anyway," Cornelius could only stare as Jaune smiled at him.

"I'll tell grandma you said hi, and that you miss her very much. I promise I'll be back when the time is right, but not until my friends are safe and whoever is responsible is stopped..." he then smirked as he turned back to the portal.

"Wish me luck!" he yelled as he jumped into the portal and the door slammed shut.

An empty silence swept across the grassy plain. Cornelius could only stare at the door as he tried to comprehend what he had just witnessed as he stared up at the large metal doors to the Gate of Death. Finally, after what seemed an eternity, he finally found his words as he rocked back his head with his palm on his face.

"...Argh that damn brat, just doesn't know when to quit does he?" he peeked through his fingers as a small smile came on his face.

"Still...to be able to open the Gateway on this side, it's unbelievable...heh...it's no wonder you decided to follow your own path...the path of Defiance...make it count kid," soft footsteps sounded behind him as he turned around as his eyes widened in shock.

"You?"

* * *

A swirling vortex surrounded Jaune as he was hurtled through the portal, his hair wiping wildly in the wind as he set his sight straight for the bright light at the end.

All around him, he could see nothing but an endless stream of colours and lights as he wondered how he had failed to see them on the way here? Had he experienced so much pain that he passed out while going through the Gateway? Or was it that no one was supposed to use the portal again?

But none of that mattered to him, as he focused on reaching the end of the vortex and get back to the world of the living.

He had to get back to his friends, he had to warn them of the threat that was to come, and he especially had to stop them no matter what. These were the thoughts that ran through his mind as he drew closer to the end of the portal as he was consumed by light...

and the first breath of life enters his lungs.

* * *

...Pain...

...Absolute and intense pain...

That was the first thing he felt as he returned to his body, as he felt nearly every fibre of his being was on fire. Every bone in his body felt as if it was nothing but shattered glass as he choked on the feeling of blood swirling in his lungs. There was only one thing he could at a time like this, the only thing anyone could do at that time...

Scream

 **"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"**

His deafening scream echoed out into the docks, as looks of shock and horror spread across everyone's face. No one could move, no one could scream in shock as they watched the horror as the young man screamed into the air. Until finally, Pyrrha broke away from her shock and screamed to the heavens.

"Jaune!" she yelled as blood began to gush from his chest in large splashes. "Jaune! Jaune! How is this- Jaune!" she continued to yell as he could only scream in pain.

He screamed louder and louder as blood continued to sputter and spray all over his chest as his back arched in pure agony. Qrow dropped his flask as he and the other teachers rushed forward and managed to pry the boy from the girl. The boy continued to struggle against the teacher's grips as he continued to scream in absolute pain.

"He's alive! How the hell is he alive!? He was dead for a good three hours!" Oobleck yelled as he tried holding the boys thrashing left arm.

"What the hell is going on Port?! I thought you said that they died after activating Final Inheritance!" Qrow yelled as he tried to hold the boy's other arm down.

"So did I! I can't even explain how this even remotely possible!" the man yelled as he and Ironwood tried to hold the boy's legs.

"Someone get a medic over here now!" Qrow ordered as one of the soldiers quickly nodded and ran off to get a medic. "Glynda, keep those kids back!" he yelled as the woman nodded and directed her attention to the other shocked students. His friends began to run over to him as another loud scream left the boys lungs and his eyes rolled into the back of his head.

"Jaune! Uncle Qrow! What's going on?!" Ruby yelled as she could only cringe at her suddenly resurrected dead friend.

"Ruby stay back! That goes for you too, Cereal girl!" the man said as Pyrrha tried to get closer, but was blocked off by Glynda as she suspended the girl back with her semblance.

"Let me go! He needs me! Let me go! Jaune!" Pyrrha screamed as she struggled against the telekinetic energy of the deputy headmistress. But no matter how hard she tried, she could not escape. Jaune continued to struggle as more blood began to gush from his broken and beaten body, as he soon lay in a large pool of his own blood.

"Damn it! Where the hell is that Medic?!" Qrow yelled as Port now held the boy's arms, as he used his cloak to try and stop the bleeding. But no matter how hard he applied pressure to his chest, blood continued to seep out as it drained into the ever-expanding pool of blood.

"Damn it! Somebody get a god damn Med-!" Suddenly a bright light flashed on the boy's chest as the others quickly let go, and rivers of white and yellow began to swarm around his chest.

"W-what the hell? He's healing!? His organs are repairing themselves! I-I've never seen this before in my life!" Oobleck said as he and the other watched in awe at the light that swarmed around the boy's chest.

"No, it's not, look!" Port said as the healed areas began to split open, before shutting back up. "His wounds keep opening up, then shutting tight! It's as if his body is tearing itself apart!" Port said as the yellow and the white light seemed to be fighting each other and intensified the boy's screams.

"Why the hell is it doing that?!" Qrow asked as the boy's body began to pulse small burst of yellow and white light.

"Uncle Qrow what's happening!" Ruby yelled as she and the rest of her friends could only watch in horror at the amount of pain that Jaune was currently going through.

"Ruby I said to turn away now!" he yelled as he desperately tried to figure out what the hell was going on with the boy. "Damn it, what the hell is happening to him?!"

"Aura Metamorphosis..." Oobleck whisper as Qrow shot his head at him.

"What?"

"Aura Metamorphosis, it was a theorised that the aura of a person could undergo drastic changes when succumbed to extreme circumstances. But it was only a theory on paper; there's never been an actual case of someone's aura changing! It's impossible to even begin with! Aura can't change!" Oobleck said as Jaune screamed again.

"Well looks like that theory is being proven!" Ironwood said as another scream escaped the boy and he growled in frustration. "Damn it where is that damn medic!" he yelled as a soldier came running up to him.

"I'm sorry sir, but all the medics are too far spread! There are a lot of injured soldiers and civilians that require immediate medical attention first!" Qrow then grabbed him by his armour and lifted him up into the air.

"A dead kid just came back to life and is currently screaming in pain! I think that warrants more medical attention right now!" he yelled at the soldier who cowered slightly in fear. Jaune, however, screamed louder as a huge portion of blood gushed from his mouth.

"Damn it! If we don't do something now, his body is going to rip itself apart! Solider! Get us some morphine quickly! We need to knock him out, otherwise, he'll just keep opening his wounds!" Ironwood commanded, only for the solder to shake his head.

"Sorry Sir, but we ran out of Morphine hours ago, and most of the reserves were on the down Warships!" the soldier said as Ironwood cursed.

"Damn it! We've got to do something?!" Qrow sighed as he looked at the boy.

"I've got something that will knock him out, but you're not going to like it," the others looked confused until he reared his fist back and shook his head. "Sorry about this kid, but it's for your own good..."

"NO! / Uncle Qrow wait!" Ruby and the others screamed as he sent his fist towards the screaming boy's face.

But just before he could hit him, white aura quickly gathered around Jaune's face as the helmet of his semblance appeared and blocked the man's fist. A loud metallic clang echoed as the man cried out in pain.

"Argh! Son of a bitch! That hurt!" he screamed as he held his now bleeding fist. But before he could curse at the boy, his anger died in his throat as his and everyone's eyes widened as the white aura quickly shrouded the boy.

Once again encasing him in a suit of white armour that encased him before, but something was different as certain sections of the boy's armour flickered between yellow and white as his body continued to convulse in pain. Yellow eyes glared angrily out of the slit in his helmet as he turned to glare at Qrow and slammed his fist into the man. Who just managed to bring his blade up to block the attack.

"Qrow!" the others yelled as he flew back from them. Suddenly yellow eyes were upon them as the armoured knight pulled back his fist.

The teachers just managed to back up as the boy swung his arm around in a blind rage. The boy continued to scream within his helmet slowly rose to his feet and stood before the huddled masses. His hands shot up and grabbed his head as he roared in pain as yellow and white aura surged and raged around his body, sending out large bursts of energy as people were forced to their knees.

The mouthpiece on the helmet cracked open to resemble an angry beast's mouth as the Knight threw back its head and roared.

 **"RARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"**

"What the hell is happening!?" Qrow shouted.

"I don't know! I've never seen anything like this!" Obleck yelled as he and the other stared at the roaring boy.

The boy instantly turned to the man as yellow eyes glared into red and he charged. Qrow cursed as he quickly brought up his sword and managed to block the punch aimed at his face. "Knock it off kid! You're scaring people! Stand down!" he tried to reason as he and the boy clashed together.

Jaune only roared back as his yellow eyes glared into Qrow's as he forced the man onto his knees as the ground beneath their feet cracked from the pressure.

Ironwood took the chance to charge at the boy as he managed to knock the boy away and sent him tumbling across the courtyard, before stopping and landing on all fours like an animal. Port and Oobleck fired at the boy as large explosions impacted against his body, but did little to damage him.

"Mister Arc, please stop! We don't want to hurt you!" Port yelled as the boy only roared and prepared to charge at the man.

"I don't think he's going to listening to us, Peter!" Oobleck said as they prepared to fire on the boy.

But before the could charge again, his body was shrouded in a purple aura as he suddenly felt his body force itself to the ground. His gaze shifted as he spotted Glynda as she used her telekinesis semblance to hold him down.

"Mister Arc! Please stop! The enemy is dead! Stand down!" she called out as the only growled and struggled against her semblance.

"It's no use," Qrow said as he stood back up. "Whatever's happened to him, he's lost control of it. And that's putting everyone in danger," Jaune growled as his eyes flashed and he slowly began to stand up.

Glynda grunted as she tried to hold the boy down by applying more of her aura to her semblance, but a sudden pulse of pure energy surged out from the boy as it slammed into her and the teachers. Sending them flying back as they all tumbled onto the ground. Jaune now standing in a crater from the headmistress's semblance as eyes glanced over at the disoriented group.

He then roared as arcs of yellow and white energy shot off his body as he screamed into the air. The energy slamming into anything around him as everyone hid from the blasts. But amongst the energy blasts and the roar, they could hear the sound of his voice that brought both fear and sadness as they heard the pain within his own voice as blood slowly leaked from the cracks in the armour the mouth wide open as he roared into the late night sky.

He was almost like a wounded beast, crying out in agony.

"Shit, we have to do something! His semblance is out of control! If we don't stop him he's going to keep hurting himself!" Ironwood said as the boy now seemed to resemble an enraged beast. Before anyone could do anything, the berserk Jaune slammed his fist into the ground as a large crater smashed into the already destroyed courtyard.

"Or us!" Qrow yelled as he and the others got ready to fight the out of control boy. His sword began to form into a scythe as he prepared to do everything in his power to stop the rampaging boy before them.

But before they could do anything, a flash of red and bronze shot past them as Pyrrha - who used the opportunity to escape Glynda's semblance - rushed towards the boy as she ignored the pleas of her friends.

"Pyrrha!" they yelled as she rushed towards him.

"KID WAIT!" Qrow yelled as the girl ignored the man as he quickly ran towards the boy she loved, as he continued to scream in pain. She quickly wrapped her arms around his chest and buried her head in the nook of his neck as the boy struggled against her grasp. Unconsciously he raised his clawed hand to bat the girl away.

"Jaune..." He stopped mid-swing as the swirling yellow and white aura seemed to wait for the girl to speak.

"Jaune stop, please stop, I don't-I don't want to see you hurting anymore. Please? I just got you back; I-I don't want to lose you again...Please stop." She whispered into his ear as she continued to hold onto the boy as small tears streaked down her cheeks. She closed her eyes, as she prayed that he would hear her, hoping that somewhere inside of that armour was still the boy she loved.

And then, it was silent as the world seemed to stop and waited with baited breath to see the outcome of the young maiden's heart filled plea.

"...Py...Pyrrha?"

A croaked voice spoke out as her eyes opened slowly and brought her head back to see the helmet exploded into specks of light. The armour itself began to break away, as soon the boy was left in nothing but his torn and bloodied clothes as the wounds on his chest were completely healed, but now held a permanent crisscrossing scar on his chest.

Yellow stared into Emerald Green, as the two just stared into each other's eyes. The world oblivious to them as they were alone in this space of time. Before they rolled into the back of his head and he collapsed into her embrace. Pyrrha stared out into space before she placed her head on his chest and waited for a sound.

-Bump-Bump, Bump-Bump, Bump-Bump-

A soft heartbeat echoed in her ear, as tears slowly sprung to her eyes as held the boy and cried once more. But no longer were their tears of sadness or despair, but tears of joy as the boy she loved was back...

He had returned to her, and she would never let him go again.

Meanwhile, the teachers and others could only stare in shock as they had watched what should have been impossible. A boy, who sacrificed himself to save his friends, had defied all odds, and the nature of the very world itself and returned from the dead. No one knew how to react from this, should they be happy? Concerned? Or fearful of the fact that someone had just returned from the dead.

"What the hell just happened?!" Sun said as he finally found his voice and spoke what was on everybody's minds. "No seriously what just happened?! W-wasn't he just dead just a minute ago?" the others could only look stunned as Pyrrha continued to cling to him.

"I-I don't know, I honestly do not know?" Ren said as he and Nora looked at their newly revived friend. His shallow breaths were the only other sound that could be heard above the joyful cries of his teammate.

"It's hard to believe it, but from the looks of it, Mister Arc has indeed returned from the dead...incredible..." Port said as he was glad it was over, only for Qrow to shake his head.

"I don't think he is out of the woods yet, look there..." he said as he pointed to Jaune's left arm twitched as it sparked with white and yellow aura and he released a painful grunt as Pyrrha quickly held him closer.

"Whatever is happening to him is still affecting his aura, for all we know he's a ticking time bomb until his body rips itself to pieces," the others gasped while Pyrrha clutched the squirming boy closer to her chest.

"What!? B-but there must be something you can do?!" Weiss said in a panicked voice as Ruby nodded her head vigorously alongside her partner as Ironwood turned to one of his men.

"Men! Get a transport ready, we need to get this boy to a hospital now!" the man said as the soldier only shook his head.

"Sorry sir, but the hospital was hit hard during the attack and is not equipped to handle this kind of case," the soldier said as Ironwood growled.

"What about the infirmary in the school?" Glynda asked as Oobleck shook his head as he looked at the ruins of Beacon Academy.

"Like the hospital, it's too heavily damaged to help him. Plus I don't think we are even equipped or qualified to handle something like...this?" he said as Jaune squirmed and grunted as small sparks of white and yellow surged around his body.

"And we can't take him to Atlas, he might not survive the trip there," Port said as Ruby and the others gasped in shock and Pyrrha gained a fearful look in her eyes. "There is only one place we can take him, it's not far from here and it's the only place that might have an idea of what's happening to him..." he looked to the other teachers as they nodded.

Ironwood turned to his men as they stood at attention. "Men, get a transport ready and find a medic that is not dealing with a life threating patient. Tell them to pack any medical equipment they can get their hands on and met us here at the docks in ten minutes" the men nodded as they scattered to find a medic.

Confused Ruby looked to her uncle as she pulled at his sleeve, "Uncle Qrow what's happening? Where are you taking Jaune?" she asked as the others looked at the veteran hunter as he sighed.

"We don't know what's happening to him the kid, but there are people that might have an idea. After all, it has been apart of their family for generations..." eyes opened wide as Qrow turned to the students.

"You mean?" Pyrrha asked as Qrow nodded.

"We need to take him home, to the one place that truly knows the powers of Final Inheritance. We have to take him to Kaer Arc...the home of the Arcs,"

* * *

 **And end scene, well here is Chapter III of The Remnant Knight. And I've got to tell you I got this chapter done fast than with any other story I have ever worked on. I hope I didn't rush it and it's all to your liking. Also, I did get the Kaer name from the Witcher game of Kaer Morhen, just because I think it sounds pretty cool, also because it means 'Fortress' in Welsh.**

 **But who was the mysterious hooded figure in the Void, and where has Ozpin disappeared? And what is happening to Jaune? Will he survive, or will he perish once again by his own soul?**

 **Find out in Chapter IV of The Remnant Knight – Recovery**


	4. Chapter IV: Recovery

RWBY: The Remnant Knight

There are many paths in life, some that are set in stone and some that are in a state of flux...then there are the ones that defy the course of fate. This is one such path where destiny is defied and the path of a Knight is forged in blood, steel and magic. This is the Rise of the Remnant Knight.

* * *

Chapter IV: Recovery

* * *

Lilac eyes slowly opened as Yang stared blankly at the unfamiliar ceiling, half excepting to awaken to a blinding light in a pristine clean hospital room, a place she would normally send the people she'd beat up. Instead, she awoke to a grey ceiling, with wires and piping lining the metallic surface above her head.

At first, she thought she was still dreaming, but the subtle shaking beneath her bed told her otherwise. She attempted to massage her head, only to stop in horror as she looked down at the stub that was her right arm. A cold panic began to surge in her chest, as her breathing began to quicken its pace.

Until memories of the battle came back in full force

She was running through the school as the fire burned all around her, a dangerous man was standing over Blake as she screamed in rage. She was running towards him before a flash of light struck her right arm and she remembered the sight of her right arm flying from her body, just before blacking out. That was when reality hit her, harder than it did during the battle of Beacon.

Her arm was gone, taken by the horned man with the red sword...forever.

A red and white figure suddenly stood next to her as a familiar voice began to speak.

"Yang! You're ok! Uncle Qrow! Yang's awake!" a familiar voice said to her side as she turned to see the face of her baby sister and her partner Weiss sitting beside her. The young girl holding her left hand, as a relieved look was on her sister's face. Followed by the warm smile on her uncle's face as he looked down at his niece.

"Hey kiddo, you were out for quite a bit, how you feeling?" he asked out of concern for his niece as the blond girl had a strange look on her face.

"Ruby? Uncle Qrow? Where are - Ugh..." The party-girl shook her head as she slowly sat up, but grunted in pain

"Easy there kid, the medics had to give you a lot of morphine while they tended to your arm. Unfortunately, they couldn't find it amongst the wreckage, so they had no other choice but to cauterize your wound...sorry kid...but your arm's gone for good." Yang stared down at the stump of her arm as she stared blankly at the stained bandages.

"...What happened after I passed out? And where are we?" she asked as she looked around the strange metallic room.

"Well for starters we're on Bullhead headed to Kaer Arc, an old stronghold north of Vale and the ancestral homestead of the Arc family," the man said as Yang looked confused.

"Arcs? You mean Jaune's family? Why would we be going to-" memories of her uncle carrying a blood-soaked body flashed before her, "Oh Gods...Jaune...he is...a-are we delivering his body?" she asked with a frightful tone. But to her surprise, he shook his head as he sighed.

"Sort of, It's more complicated than that..." he stood to the side as her eyes widened further at the sight that beheld her.

There on the cot lying opposite her was the broken body of Jaune Arc, his body wrapped in bandages that constricted his chest with small areas that had already begun to dampen red with blood. Cables, tubes and wiring were attached all over his body as the steady sound of his heartbeat on a monitor echoed in the cabin along with the shallow breathing from his oxygen mask.

Beside him with her hand gripped firmly in his own was Pyrrha Nikos, his partner and the object of his newfound affections, sat by his side with a look of worry on her face as she silently stared at his sleeping face. A soldier with the symbol of a cross and snake stood next to the boy as he adjusted the IV drip that was attached to his wrist.

"Jaune?! B-but how h-he died! W-we all saw it! You carried his body at the docks! He was dead! How is this-?!" she was interrupted as Qrow sat beside her and sighed.

"He did, but turns out the kid's more stubborn than anyone realised and somehow came back from the dead," he chuckled slightly as he withdrew his silver flask from his back pocket. "Honestly I'm a little impressed...and that doesn't happen often," he downed a huge gulp before he wiped his lips and screwed the lid back on.

"But there is something wrong with him, his aura is acting up constantly healing and ripping his body apart at the same time. He is in a constant state of pain that I'm surprised his mind hasn't killed him by now?" Yang gasped slightly as she turned to see Jaune suddenly grunt and convulse in pain, as Pyrrha only gripped his hand and whispered comforting words to him.

"We don't know what's happening with him, so we're taking him to his family. They're the only ones who could possibly know more about Final Inheritance then anyone in the world. They might have some idea what's going on inside him, or that's what we're hoping. We won't know until we get there," he took another swing at his flask as he downed the liquor.

"...Whoa...w-what happened after Jaune came back to life? Where are the others?" Qrow ran a hand through his hair, as he began to fill the girl in on what she missed.

"Well...Vale is still in complete disarray and a lot of people who were injured or killed during the attack, most of them were foreign students and civilians. Goodwitch is trying to organise the repairs and is building temporary shelters for the survivors. General Ironwood is trying to gather up his men and reform order in the city. But he lost a lot of soldiers during the initial assault with his own drones turning against him, which has left him severely underhanded and is currently struggling to maintain order in the city until reinforcements arrive. Not to mention the damage that was done when most of his warships went down after Roman took control of the ship he was held on and blasted the others out of the sky, it's not going easy for him..." he chuckled slightly as he shook his head.

"So much for looking at the sky and seeing hope? If it wasn't for Ruby taking down Roman and Jaune stopping that woman, things could have gotten a lot worse," he said under his breath. Yang looked slightly confused before she shook her head and looked at Ruby.

"What about our friends? Are they ok?" she asked as Ruby nodded her head.

"They're fine, Coco and her team are helping with the repairs while Sun's left for Mistral. Professor Goodwitch thought that the foreign students would be safer if they were sent back home. Ren and Nora are coming with us to Kaer Arc because they want to see what will happen to Jaune, as for Pyrrha..." she stopped as she tried to find the right words.

"...Pyrrha hasn't left Jaune's side since he came back, they want to be there for her in case the worse happens..." she said as she looked over to see Nora and Ren sitting in the seats lining the walls.

Nora had her head resting on his lap, as the dark-haired magenta-streaked boy softly stroked the orange mass of hair that was his childhood friend, doing the best he could to comfort her as she lay peacefully on his lap. He would spare an occasional glance towards his other teammates, as the sounds of the one he considers a brother breathed shallow breaths that resonated in the small cabin. A look of deep thought evident on his face, as he turned back to Nora and continued to comfort the sleeping girl.

"As for us, Uncle Qrow didn't want to leave us behind with the soldiers, so he had us come with him and Professor Port while you were unconscious and Weiss didn't want to stay behind without us," Ruby said as Weiss nodded beside her.

"We're also trying to see if the Arc's can provide any relief for the people of Vale. Aside from the Schnee's, the Arc's are one of the most influential families in Remnant and we're hoping they are willing to negotiate some aid for us in exchange for returning Jaune to them alive" Weiss said as she looked over to Jaune.

Yang sighed in relief at this as she rested her head on the pillow. But that was when she noticed something was off, something she should have noticed the moment she woke up.

"...Where's Blake?"

A cold silence shrouded the cabin, as Ruby and Weiss had an almost frightened look on their faces, as they shared a subtle glance at each other. Fear gripped at Yang's heart as her teammates looked at her with sadness in their eyes.

"Guys...where is Blake?"

"Yang...Blake...Blake's gone..." Weiss said as she hung her head.

Yang stared in disbelief, feeling as though a truck had just hit her at full force. Her heart hammering in her chest as she refused to believe what she just heard.

"W-what? B-Blake? Blake is..." her eyes suddenly flashed red as she quickly grabbed the front of Weiss's dress as she pulled her close to her face. "What the hell happened to her!? Where is Blake! Answer me!" she growled in anger as demanded answers.

"Yang! Calm down, she's safe! She is still alive!" Ruby quickly said as she managed to get her sister to drop Weiss, as she roughly fell on her backside. "Blake is still alive Yang, don't worry about that...it's just, Blake she..."

"She left," Weiss said as she got up off the floor and crossed her arms. "She left shortly after Jaune came back to life, during the commotion she snuck away and hasn't been seen since..." Weiss said as she hung her head.

"We tried calling her scroll, but she didn't answer and sent us a message telling us not to follow her. Sun found her scroll a little far off from the docks, she smashed it so we couldn't find her..." Ruby shook her head as she looked at her sister.

"I'm sorry Yang but...but Blake left us..."

The blond haired girl could only stare back blankly as she fell back into the bed and lay her head on the pillow. The image of her partner briefly passing through her mind as she rested her arm over her eyes and refused to say anything.

"Yang?" Ruby asked as her sister became uncharacteristically quiet that brought fear to both her and her partner. Her only response was for Yang to roll over on her side, back facing her sister as she stared at the wall.

"Yang?"

"Leave me alone Ruby...I don't want to talk now..."

Ruby and Weiss could only glance back at each other, as worry was clear on their faces. Qrow, on the other hand, could understand why she was acting this way. She had been framed, crippled and now abandoned by her partner. She had lost her fighting spirit. He had seen it before many times before and knew it would not be easy for her to heal her emotional wounds.

Those wounds were harder to heal...and often they never did...

"I'm going to check with Port and the pilot and see how much longer we'll be. Are you going to be alright?" he asked Ruby, as the girl could only nod her head as she looked at the back of her sister.

He shook his head as he left the two sisters to themselves, while Weiss could only stare with a sorrowful expression before she got up and walked over to where Ren and Nora sat. Ren acknowledged her presence but still focused his gaze on the pair in front of him, as Pyrrha held Jaune's hand in her own.

"Hey..." she said as with a slightly awkward tone in her voice, as she sat down and the two in front of them.

"Hey..." he said, an equally awkward tone in his voice as he was not used to talking with the white-haired girl.

"Things got pretty hectic before huh?"

"Yes, it kind of did, didn't it?" he said as the girl sighed.

"I mean I don't...I don't even know where to begin? First Penny dies and then Beacon gets attacked by the White Fang, a-and now someone who was dead only a few hours ago is alive and lying right across from us..." she sighed as she rested her head in her hand. "When did everything get so...wrong? Why did it have to happen to us? Can't everything just go back to the way it was?" she said as the boy could only ponder the thought.

"I don't think things can ever go back, and even if we could, it's not going to change what happened to us." he looked over as Jaune seemed almost struggling to breathe.

"This attack, this war that was waged against us, has changed us in ways we can't even imagine. We've all lost something..."

"Our spirits..." Yang continued to ignore her sister, while Ruby could only hang her head at the sight of her older sisters pain.

"Our futures..." far away in the ruined city of Vale, Bake looked sadly at the corpses of the dead, woman and children alike as she hung her head and bolted from the rooftop.

"The trust we used to share..." Glynda coordinated with Ironwood as troops and civilians continued to search the ruins of the city for survivors. Ironwood would notice the occasional cautious glance the people shot towards his men as some even refused their help.

"We've lost too much and I don't doubt we will still lose more..." Pyrrha sadly held Jaune's hand as he twitched and drew in a sharp breath before he settled down and returned to small shallow breaths.

"But that doesn't mean it will stop us...Jaune proved that today..." Weiss looked over as Ren looked at his hand.

"He proved that even when we are pushed back as far as we can go, we can still stand firm and push back just as hard..." he gripped his hand into a fist as a determined look formed on his face. "And the next time someone targets us, I won't stand on the side as my friends...no...as my brother stands against them alone. I will be there right by his side ready to face the future together...that's a promise," Ren said as Weiss stared at him in slight awe.

She turned back to Jaune, as she was amazed at how he was able to inspire something so powerful in his friend, enough for him to call him a brother and willing to now put his own life on the line for him. It made her wonder why she never noticed that aspect of him in the many months that they spent together at Beacon.

All she had seen in him was the terrible flirt and the clueless idiot that asked her out relentlessly, but a kind and caring friend when he wanted to be, she now regretted being as overly cold as she was to him.

Now she saw something different in him, someone who was strong and brave and not afraid to put his life on the line to save the ones he cares about, a testament to that fact as he lay on the cot struggling between staying alive and accepting death. She swore to herself that if he manages to pull through this trial, to beat death and make it back to all of them she would be kinder to him and maybe accept that one date he had asked for so long.

' _But...'_ she thought to herself as she looked over to Pyrrha's form as she held his hand in her own noticing the subtle squeeze she gave to him. ' _That last one might not be possible anymore...not from me anyway...'_ Pyrrha held his hand in her own as she rested them on her forehead silently praying to any God that was willing to hear her plea.

Meanwhile, Qrow had moved to the cockpit as Port stood next to the pilot observing the billowing winds and the clouds that passed them before the portly man turned and acknowledged the fellow teacher.

"How are the children?"

"Well, they're not children anymore, not after all they had been through. But they're hanging on, if barely..." Qrow said as he thought of his niece Yang and the depression she now faced. Port sighed as he shook his head.

"And Mister Arc?"

"He's holding on, but I'm not sure for how much longer, I'm still shocked that he even came back to life. Are you sure that final inheritance users die shortly after activation?" Port nodded as he cast his gaze to the clouds.

"I'm certain of it...and unlike mister Arc, my friend didn't come back from the dead," he shook his head as he turned back to the scythe wielder.

"In any case, we are about fifteen minutes out from Domrémy, which means hopefully we can use the short burst radio frequencies to contact them, even with the CCT down short bursts should still work," Port said as Qrow nodded and the co-pilot turned on the radio. He fiddled with a few of the dials as he tried to find the right frequency for the fort.

"Kaer Arc, this is Atlesian Medical Transport A-497 from Beacon Academy requesting permission to land, do you copy?" static was all that answered as the co-pilot tried again. "Kaer Arc, this is Atlesian Medical Transport A-497 requesting permission to land, do you co-"

"Atlesian Medical Transport this Kaer Arc Air Control, you are entering restricted airspace. State your business" a man spoke over the radio as the pilot responded.

"Kaer Arc, we have injured in need of medical treatment with one in a critical state, fluctuating in and out of consciousness. We need permission to land"

"Medical Transport A-497 your request has been denied. You are ordered to leave Domrémy airspace. The city is under lockdown and no outsiders are allowed into the city, orders straight from Commander Arc," the radio hand said as Qrow got angry.

"Listen here tech head! Tell that stubborn bastard to let us land now! We have seriously injured children on board and one of them is his own son! If he doesn't let us land right now there is a good chance he will lose him, do you copy!" the radio went silent as the teachers waited with baited breath.

"...Medical Transport A-497 you are permitted to land, make your way to the western landing platform, a Deck team will be standing by" the tech said as both men sighed in relief.

"Well...at least that's some good news," Qrow said as he made his way back to the rear cabin. "Hey Doc, we're about to land so get prepped to move. You kids get ready too ok? We'll be touching down in fifteen," the man said, as he was about to walk back into the cockpit until Ruby grasped at his sleeve.

"Uncle Qrow, what's Jaune's home like?" she asked as the man sighed and looked at the other kids.

"Oh boy, where to start?" he cleared his through as he turned to the kids.

"The place we are heading to is called Domrémy one of the largest settlement ever established and maintained in Remnant history. It's based just on the borders of Kingdom territory and ruled by a powerful family of warriors, the Arcs. And while they don't technically answer to the Council, they do have a long-standing contract to protect the smaller settlements in the region. In exchange for ownership of a portion of the lands and access to the region's mineral and dust resources. You could almost say they are a private military if it wasn't for the civilians inhabiting the town."

"They mostly sustain themselves by growing their own food and mine the rare metals and dust from the ground in order to procure trade agreements for weapons and ammunition. Relax, none of the workers, Faunus or otherwise is forced to work in hazardous places and is properly paid for their work. It's almost scary how devoted they are to protecting the town" he crossed his arms as he remembered his last trip to the settlement.

"Not to mention Arc warriors or those trained by the Arcs are highly sought after by other countries, so they amass a large amount of wealth from each mission...Sometimes I wonder if they are honourable warriors or just a large mercenary force with a code?" he shook his head as he sighed.

"They have stood as the Vanguards for the entire region for almost eighteen generations, that's longer than any other recorded settlement known to man. The current leader is Jaune's father, Roland Arc, one of the strongest and most stubborn bastards I have ever had the privilege to know. He and I fought together on some missions in the past and he didn't always get along with my 'cynical view on politics and order', but still he is one of the best men to have fought by your side when you need it...and he is one of my closest friends," he smiled slightly at the one memory of the man as he and Qrow toasted a victory in days long since passed.

The others looked at him before he shook himself of the memory. "Other than that, he's mostly known for his stoic personality and willingness to enforce Iron fist judgments when he needs to instil order, but he generally cares for the people under his charge and will do anything to protect them..." he chuckled as he looked at the comatose boy.

"At least he only got that part from his father," he said as Jaune's shallow breathing slightly echoed in the cabin.

"We're almost here if you want to see Domrémy form above, now would be a good time...its one a heck of a view," While the medical unit began setting up the cot to go mobile, Ruby out of curiosity left her sister's side as she went over to the port side window and looked out. Her eyes briefly widened as she realised a small gasp.

"Whoa...hey guys, Uncle Qrow wasn't kidding" Ren, Nora and Weiss moved over to the Window, while Yang and Pyrrha stayed in their place not really caring about the view.

They gasped slightly as the came into view of a huge settlement based at the foot of a large mountain surrounded by an endless sea of forest, it was smaller than a city but far larger than a simple village.

Surrounding the settlement was a large concrete wall with sentry towers placed at thirty-meter intervals with large sentry cannons placed on each tower along with the symbol of the Arc family brandished on every flag, along with the Vale national flag just underneath the banner. As they flew over the city they soon noticed a large fortress-like structure carved directly into the mountain face. The fortress stonewalls naturally blended into the mountainside that from a distance it looked like it was a part of the mountain itself.

It was a marvel of architecture and strategic engineering.

Several helipads could be seen, as one had lights flashing signalling for the transport to land on that particular pad, along with a man holding signal lights to direct them. The Bullhead slowly began to descend from the sky, before the landing gears deployed and the ship touched down on the platform. The medic and Port carefully placed Jaune onto the stretcher as the rear ramp opened up and the rest of them began piling off the ship.

"Wait here, got to find out what mood Roland's in before we bring out his son," Qrow said to the medic and Port as the nodded and remained on the ship until Qrow would signal them.

No sooner did they step off the ramp, did a squad of men and woman dressed in armour came marching towards them with spears at the ready.

They quickly surrounded the group as they stood fast in a soldier's salute, spears pointed up to the sky as they quickly parted for two individuals. Following them was a tall blond-haired man dressed in heavy white armour with a large broadsword strapped to his back. He had a scar running from the top of his brow to the bottom of the jaw on the right side of his face.

The woman beside him had long dark brown hair and was dressed in a long green dress, with a simple short sword on her waist. A determined look was set on his face as the heavily armoured man came marching towards the new arrivals.

"Qrow!" the man yelled as he marched towards the group.

"Oh great, he's in his 'chipper mood', this going to play out well..." Qrow muttered as the pair walked up to him.

"What did you mean when you said our son was onboard and that he was alive? How is that possible, explain right now before I rescind my order and force you to leave!" the man said as Qrow gave a snarky smile to the man.

"Roland, always good to see your chipper personality. Diana you are looking lovely as always" Qrow quipped, as Diana and Roland only glared at the man.

"Cut the crap you bastard! Tell us where our son is!" the man demanded as Qrow sighed and motioned for the two inside the ship, Pyrrha wisely choosing to step back as she allowed the parents to look over their son.

Both parents gasped in horror as their son was slowly brought down the ramp.

The subtle sounds of his breathing almost seemed amplified to the pair, as they could only stare at the torn flesh that decorated his chest and the multiple scraps that decorated his face and body. Diane instantly was at her son's side as she held her hand in his and cupped the side of his face. Tears already in her eyes, as she glanced at every wound that covered his body as she silently wept for her child.

Roland slowly walked over as he looked at his son's broken form. The blood-soaked bandages drew his attention the most, as the blood seemed to almost glow amongst the red lights of the helipad lights.

"Son..." he said as reached out to stroke a strand of hair from his head, as he lowered his head and held in a cry of anguish. He then turned to Qrow as he moved towards the veteran hunter.

"What is the meaning of this Qrow? How can my son be still alive?" he asked as the man scratched the back of his head.

"Honestly, I don't know, somehow your son came back to life after being dead for three hours. We were hoping you'd be able to help us understand what's going on with him? I mean your family does know more about final inheritance than anyone else figured you might know what's going on with him" Roland looked back as his son was being transported to the Medic and Port with the armed escort.

"No, no one has ever survived it before, it shouldn't be possible..." Qrow was slightly stunned that the man he knew was at a loss. Was it honestly the first time he had ever seen him so...conflicted? Did seeing his son in that state that nerves wrecking for him? He always figured the man would be-!

Suddenly a large wave of energy shot from Jaune's body as he began to spasm and scream in pain. The energy slammed against everyone around them as large bolts of electricity shot off his body. The Medic and Qrow quickly tried to hold him down while his mother shrieked at the sight, as his father could only watch in muted silence.

"Shit! It's happening again!" Qrow said as he held the boys struggling arm, "Cereal girl! Get over here now!" he ordered as Pyrrha flinched slightly before she ran down and cupped his head in her hands.

"Jaune, Jaune its ok! You're safe now; we're at your home! It's ok now, you're safe...you're safe..." she whispered into his ear as the boy's breathing became calmer as the energy slowly receded back into his body as the parents looked at the red-haired girl in shock.

The guardsmen and parents could only stare in stunned silence as the redhead continued to keep the boy calm and stable.

"W-what was that!?" Roland asked as Qrow sighed.

"We don't know, it's been happening ever since he came back to life"

"But what is it? What's been happening to my son?"

"Oobleck believes it's a form of aura metamorphism, his aura is changing into something else and his body can't take it. His body is healing and tearing itself apart at the same time...from the looks of it, he could die at any moment and we still don't know what's happening to him"

"He is becoming something _more,_ " both men turned around as woman began walking towards them, followed by men dressed in white and bearing the medics cross.

Unlike Diane, the woman was slightly smaller then Pyrrha and had pure dark hair, with small strands of gold mixed into the mess.

She was dressed in what they could best describe as priestess robes with a hood covering her head, as she walked with a staff that had a white crystal at the end with the Arc symbol embedded into the crystal. She had an air of authority and wisdom around her as the soldier and Arc's instantly bowed to the woman.

"Whoa, who is the woman?" Ruby asked as Weiss spun to her.

"How would I know?" Ruby shrugged while Port leant next to her

"That's Melaine Arc, she is the highest-ranking member of the Arc Family and the world's foremost surgeon and medical practitioner in all of Remnants history. But not only that, she is also..." before he could finish, Roland got back up and addressed the woman.

"Mother what are you doing here?" he said as the students flinched as if struck by a bolt of lightning.

"Mother! She's Jaune's Grandmother!" the rest of the students shouted in shock as they were addressed to Jaune's grandmother.

"What? Haven't you ever seen a young looking grandparent before?" the woman asked the students just shook their heads.

"I guess not seeing as you are used to seeing wrinkles and grey hair, one of the many benefits of being married to an Arc, not getting old," she said as she placed a hand against her smooth skin.

"Just being near my husband had saturated me with his aura's healing abilities and reduced my ageing by decades. Arcs have been a warrior family for generations, how is it you think they fight for so long?" Diana slightly nodded while Roland rolled his eyes. The woman then turned as she smiled to Peter Port.

"Peter, it's so good to see you again," she said as the Portly Professor bowed before her.

"Indeed Lady Arc, I only wish our reunion was not so similar to...Cornelius," he said as the woman only smiled softly at the old man.

"I told you, my husband had no regrets when he passed on, so please call me Melaine, we are friends after all?" she said as the man shook his head.

"I cannot, the fact that his blood is still on my hands will be with me for the rest of my life...I will carry that burden" the man side as most were surprised by the normally boastful teacher's serious persona.

"Then so be it...old friend," she said with a saddened smiled as her son walked over to her.

"Mother, do you know what's going on with Jaune?" She smirked slightly as she walked over to them and placed her hand on the boy's chest and her eyes glowed gold with a small cross in the centre.

"The energy inside of him is fusing and adapting to his aura, it is changing the very nature of his semblance, amplifying it and giving it a new form." As if to emphasise her point sections of his armour formed on his body before they warped and shattered like glass.

"But his body is still too weak to handle the transformation and if we do not act soon, he risks losing his life," she said as Qrow looked at her curiously.

"How do you know what's happening to him?" he asked as the woman's eyes returned from gold to its normal hazel coloured eyes.

"My semblance is called 'Analysis' it allows me to perform in-depth scans of a person's body and aura in order to determine their abilities and their weakness. I mostly use it for medical purposes, so I have not used it for combat in quite some time..." she gripped her hand around her staff as she looked at the arch of electricity that surged briefly around his body.

"And for the fact that I have been studying Final Inheritance for the past ten years since my husband died, in order to understand what it is that inflicts his family...and why it took my husband from me," a memory of her husband passed her mind. But she shook it off as she turned to the

"Get him to the ICU, we need a deep tissue scan of his biology and a reading on his aura levels" she ordered as the medics that followed her nodded.

"Yes, ma'am" they then grabbed the gurney as they made their way to the medical facility.

"In the meantime, I think it's best that we hear what our guest have to say, they did return our heir to us after all?" Melaine said as Roland begrudgingly nodded.

"Follow me, we have a lot to talk about..." he said as they all followed him into the hallowed halls of Kaer Arc.

* * *

Two Hours Later, Kaer Arc Medical Centre

* * *

The rhythmic sounds of a heart monitor echoed in the pristine white room as Jaune Arc lay in the bed. His bandages redressed and his body washed clean as a team of medical professionals, along with his grandmother, stood over his body as they began trying to ascertain what exactly it was that was affecting his body and why his wounds were in a constant state of repaired and damaged.

Melaine knew it had something to do with Final Inheritance fusing to his body, but she needed to know what exactly was happening to him if she was going to treat him. After finding out that he had been dead prior to his resurrection, the first thing she checked was his brain activity, to see if the time he spent dead had degraded some of his brain tissue due to lack of oxygen. But scans had revealed that Final Inheritance, fused with his natural healing abilities temporarily, had repaired all of the damage to the brain.

Meaning that he would not suffer any loss of brain function if he woke up.

It was almost as if both his aura and Inheritance knew that the brain needed to be repaired first, before going to war with each other. Strange? Maybe it was an instinctual need to survive? Put aside their differences for their own survival? Who knows?

In any case with his brain no longer an issue, she began to run her semblance over his body, finally able to get a deeper scan of his injuries as she watched the White Aura and the Yellow Aura clash within his body. The white seemed to repair his damaged cells while the Yellow seemed to do the opposite, albeit unintentionally and then collided in a show of light.

It was like watching fire and ice trying to snuff each other out while both burning and freezing everything around them and then clashing in a show of fiery ice. Almost beautiful...

While she tended to Jaune, Roland and Qrow watched from behind a sheet of glass as they waited to find out the fate of the young knight. Roland leant up against the window as he watched his son breath shallowly through a tube, a sight that pained him so.

"So this woman, this Cinder Fall? She's the one who did this to my son?" Qrow nodded as he looked at the boy.

"Yeah, Ruby managed to give us her name after the battle, we know she was after something in the school and brought an army to get it"

"You mean the Maidens power?" Qrow looked back as the man scoffed.

"Don't pretend to be ignorant Qrow, it wasn't hard to figure out after it was broadcasted over the entire network. We know of the Maidens existence, one my ancestors fought alongside the previous Summer maiden long ago, but vowed to keep her existance a secret. Maybe if you had informed us, we could have helped." Qrow lowered his head slightly.

"But in any case, this Cinder woman, she is dead right?" Qrow nodded.

"My niece confirmed it herself, she watched her blow up in a big explosion," Qrow said as Roland growled.

"Damn...and I wanted to make her suffer," he said as he looked at his son. "But why was my son the one fighting her? Where were you lot?" he asked as Qrow spoke.

"Most of us were in the city or the Coliseum when the attack happened and the only other one at the tower was Ozpin, but he has been missing since the attack. The Nikos girl told us that he stayed behind to fight her while telling the kid here and herself to get back to Vale and warn us. But apparently, they saw her flying to the top after they made it out..." Roland turned back as he started slightly.

"You mean Ozpin is?" Qrow shrugged as crossed his arm.

"I'm not sure. We haven't found a body yet, but with that woman's abilities, I doubt there would be anything left of him. Or maybe he escaped and is nursing his wounds somewhere and can't contact us, I can't really say for sure." Roland still shook his head as he felt Qrow was hiding something from him.

"That doesn't explain why my son and that girl were there? What did they have to do with it?" Qrow sighed as he leant himself against the glass.

"Ozpin...wanted the Nikos girl to take the other half of the maiden's power, making her the new Fall Maiden," blue eyes widened as he turned to him.

"What!? Why would he do something like that?"

"Ozpin felt we needed to even the playing field and that girl was the strongest out of all the students, he felt confident that she would be a potential candidate. So we brought her down and explained everything to her, hoping that she would do what needed to be done. But afterwards she seemed distraught and unfocused; I think she was weighing the choice she had to make." he sighed as rubbed a hand across his chin.

"Then the attack happened and I'm assuming Ozpin brought her down to give her the power...and then you know the rest..." he sighed as he remembered telling the girl the truth.

"She told us after the battle that your son put her in one of those rocket-lockers to get her to safety, while he went up to hold her off...your son didn't go up there to save the world...he went up there to save her..."

Roland looked stunned for a moment as he looked over at his son as he felt a feeling of pride in his chest. Qrow sighed, as he was afraid what he had to ask of the father.

"Roland, I know I have no right to ask you for this, but Vale needs your help. It may be free from Grimm, but the city is still in turmoil. They have no food, no medical supplies and they don't trust us anymore to guard them. They certainly won't trust the Atlas reinforcements that will arrive in the city. But if you can offer any aid, seeing as the kid was from your family, they might just be willing to-"

"I'll send aid..." Qrow was taken back slightly as he looked at him.

"Roland?"

"I said I'll send aid, the people of Vale will have our support..." he lowered his head as he a sullen look came over his face.

"My son gave everything he had to fight that woman and it nearly cost him his life. And while it may have been to protect that girl of his, I won't allow what my son saved destroy itself from fear. I'll send my eldest daughter to Vale with supplies and some troops. When they see our symbol they will know who to trust..." he then turned to Qrow as he glared at him.

"But let me make one thing perfectly clear Qrow if I find out that you all were hiding something else that will cost my son's life. No county and not even an army Grimm will be able to protect you from our wrath, _understood_?" Qrow didn't react but only nodded as he turned and left the man to his thoughts as he looked back to his son.

* * *

Kaer Arc Living Hall, Main House

* * *

Sitting on the extravagant lounges were the remainders of teams RWBY and JNPR as they looked around at the large high ceilings of the living quarters of the fortress. They had been able to change out of their blood-soaked and battle damaged clothing, wash away the grime and filth from their bodies and into some clean clothing that was provided to them by the Arcs.

They were then brought into the main living hall as they were soon seated on the lounges, while the guards stood still in the corners of the room. They took the moment to look over the large mansion like fortress marvelling at the many paintings, statues and artefacts belonging to many great Arcs.

"Whoa...so this is where Jaune grew up?" Nora said as she looked around the home. "It's huge," she said as Ruby nodded.

"It's almost as large as my own home, maybe even more?" Weiss said as compared the size of the fortress to her own home.

"It kind of makes you understand why Jaune faked his way into Beacon," Ren said as they looked at him.

"What do you mean?" Weiss asked as the boy laced his fingers together.

"His family has been protecting this region of Vale for the past eighteen generations, that is almost over two to three hundred years of men and women that had led and protected this place, each one of them remembered as heroes and saviours. That kind of pressure, I can't imagine anyone having to live up to something like that...other than Weiss here," he said as everyone looked at Weiss.

"Maybe that's why he wanted to get to know you better back at Beacon, he thought you knew what it was like to live up to high expectations?" Weiss looked around at the large memorabilia that decorated the fortress walls and felt a strange feeling of guilt as she realised that there was more to Jaune then she thought.

Suddenly the large oaken doors opened up as Diana Arc and another woman with straight light blue hair and emerald green eyes walked into the room. She was dressed in a long blue dress with silver armour decorated on her chest, shoulders and hands, with a decorated long sword strapped to her waist.

"Greetings, I hope you are all comfortable?" Diana asked as she received hesitant nods from the group.

"There is no need to be afraid, after everything that has happened to you all, I do not blame you for being worried. You are safe inside these walls and there is nothing to be afraid of. Allow me to introduce my eldest daughter, Bleu Arc, she is captain of the 4th regiment here at Kaer Arc," the woman nodded as she and her mother sat on the spare couches.

"It's a pleasure to meet you all, I wish it were under better circumstance but I guess fate had other plans?" she said as she greeted the team, as Pyrrha waved slightly.

"Hello, I'm-"

"Pyrrha Nikos, I know, Jaune talked about you all the time when he called. It's nice to finally meet his partner" she said as Pyrrha suddenly looked sullen.

"I don't think...I don't think you should be saying that" she said as the pair looked confused. "It's-it's my fault that Jaune is like this, it's my fault that he that he..." a soft hand was placed on her own.

She looked up as she was met with the soft presence of Diana as she shook her head.

"Do not blame yourself for this, my husband told me your story from Qrow, so I understand what you were going through. What happened in the Vault and with that woman is not your fault, don't blame yourself for any of this, you're not expected to save the whole world" she said as Pyrrha stared at her.

"As for Jaune, he knew what was he was doing when he went up against her. he knew what he had to do to keep you safe...my son told me that he was developing feelings for you..." Pyrrha looked stunned slightly as the others looked just as shocked.

"He said that he was starting to feel different about you after the dance about a month ago back at Beacon" Pyrrha blushed slightly as she remembered that dance with Jaune, even though he was wearing a dress.

"You made him feel more special than he had ever felt in his entire life, as a mother I felt sad that he felt that way from someone outside his own family," Bleu lowered head slightly as she nodded. Diane then smiled as she looked into the red head's eyes.

"But I was happy, happy to know that my son had found someone who had so much faith in him," she said as she squeezed her hand slightly. "If Jaune put himself through all of this, just to make sure you were safe...then I know he would never hate you for it and neither would I," she said as Bleu placed a hand on hers as well.

"Thank you for believing in him..." she said as Pyrrha could only stare at the two.

Small tears formed in her eyes as the woman brought her into a hug. She allowed the former champion cry into the older woman's shoulder, doing her best to comfort the one that her son given his life for. Ruby and the others watched as they looked at the scene and smiled knowing that no matter what they had gone through...

They would recover

The doors opened up again as everyone turned to Melaine, Roland and Qrow walked into the room. Melaine's hands no longer covered in blood, as she stood before the group, Roland came up behind her as he stood behind his wife. Pyrrha instantly shot up as she stood before her.

"Jaune, is he?" the woman raised her hand as she brought it up to her brow.

"Jaune is alive, for the most part...the energy of final inheritance was surging throughout his entire body, breaking down his cells, while his natural healing abilities were repairing the damage at an accelerated rate. If it had continued his body would have eventually be ripped from the inside out. We were able to repair as much of the damage as we could, by suppressing Final Inheritance with aura nullifiers and healing wounds...but..." she sighed as she was afraid to say what would come next.

"In order to do so we also had to suppress his aura as well and because of it...Jaune is now in a coma"

Eyes widened in shock as Diane gasped while Pyrrha placed her hand over her mouth and stumbled back onto the couch as Ruby and Nora were instantly by her side as they attempted to comfort the girl. Ren and Weiss looked shocked while Bleu gripped her fists tightly. Ruby looked over at her as fear was evident on her young face

"How...how long will he be like this?" the older woman shrugged as she held her own hands.

"I don't know...it could be days, weeks, months...years even? The only way to save him was by suppressing final inheritance which had already mixed in with seventy-five percent of his natural aura reserves...to save him we had to cut him off from both. We set the nullifiers to slowly release his aura over a period of time, allowing small amounts of inheritance and his aura to merge and adapt to his body safely. However, the process was too painful for his mind to comprehend, so his body forced him to recede into a coma..."

"Now..." she said as she stared at them, "It's up to Jaune whether or not he lives..."

The room was silent as they thought about what they had just been told. Jaune was alive, for which they were happy about, but was now trapped within his own body. They had often heard stories about how people could remain in a coma for years with no sign of ever waking up, that they would be forced to let them go. They were afraid that the same thing could happen to Jaune.

They were afraid that they were going to lose him...

"He'll make it..." they all turned to Ruby as she looked up with brave eyes. "Because he has something to come back to..." she turned to Pyrrha as she nodded to her "it's what brought him back before"

Pyrrha looked at the girl as she felt every eye was now on her, all their hope of bringing Jaune home now rode on his will to live, not only for his family and his friends.

But for the one person who always believed in him.

* * *

Blue eyes slowly opened, as a blinding light was the first thing that greeted Jaune. A rhythmic sound of a monitor hammered in his eardrums as he returned to the world. He groaned as he slowly tried to raise himself from the bed, only to fall back down as he found he had no strength in his entire body.

"W-what the? Where am I?" he moved his head around as he recognised it as one of the medical rooms back at Kaer Arc. He was back at his home.

"H-how did I?" he stopped as he noticed a familiar shade of red next to his right leg as he looked down to see Pyrrha as she rested near the foot of his bed. Her hair was no longer tied in the ponytail that he had so often seen her with, but was now cascading down her back and spill over the sheets that she lay her head on.

"P-Pyrrha?" the sudden movement caused her to stir as she slowly raised her head only to widen her eyes in shock as she looked into his eyes.

"Jaune!" she said as she suddenly embraced him in a tight hug. "You're awake! Oh, thank Oum you're all right! I was-I was so and I was afraid you wouldn't..." she said as she rested her head against his chest and soaked his shirt with tears as Jaune looked at her confused.

"P-Pyrrha, I'm-I'm sorry. I-I didn't mean to- I'm sorry," he said as her sobs slowly began to die down.

"It's...it's okay...I'm just glad you're safe," she said as she held his hand in her own. Jaune nodded as he tried to get up again but found he had no strength once again.

"Pyrrha?" she looked as he looked back at her, "Why can't I move my body?" The room became deathly silent as Pyrrha tried to find the right thing to say to him.

"Pyrrha?"

"Jaune...the doctors...your grandmother...said that in order to save you, they had to cut you off Final Inheritance which had already begun to mix in with your aura and release it over a period of time...but in order to do so, your body placed itself into a coma..."

Jaune's eyes widened as he looked down and noticed that his arms and legs looked slightly thinner than when he last remembered them. He tried to raise them up, but it was almost as if all of the muscles in his body was filled with lead. He also noticed that his hair was longer as it just touched his shoulders and shrouded his eyes from view.

"Pyrrha...how long was I in that coma?" Pyrrha struggled to speak before she said with a heavy heart.

"...Five Months"

* * *

 **And scene, well here is Chapter IV the long-awaited sequel to Chapter III of Remnant Knight. Sorry for the long wait but I was working on an assignment that required me to work on it for the past six weeks. But now Jaune is awake, after being in a coma for the past five months. How will he react to the world he left behind, and how will his actions have affected the state of Vale.**

 **Stay tuned for Chapter V: Awakening**


	5. Chapter V: Awakening

RWBY: The Remnant Knight

There are many paths in life, some that are set in stone and some that are in a state of flux...then there are the ones that defy the course of fate. This is one such path, where destiny is defied and the path of a Knight is forged in blood, steel and magic. This is the Rise of the Remnant Knight.

* * *

Chapter V: Awakening

* * *

Deep within the fortress of Kaer Arc in the Rehabilitation Centre of the Medical Wing, Jaune Arc was attempting to walk on his own two feet, as he held onto the railings at his side for support.

A bead of sweat present on his brow, as he moved one shaking leg after the other in an attempt to walk on his own - while Pyrrha was carefully watching every move he made, ready to jump if something were to happen to him. Which did, as the sweat on his palm caused him to slip on the railing and fall to the mat.

"Jaune!" the girl said as she was instantly at his side, only for him to raise his hand as she stopped.

"I'm fine! I can keep going!" he grabbed a hold of the railing again, slowly pulling himself up as he continued to walk along the mat. His mind wandering back to three weeks ago when he had discovered what had transpired in the five months since is awakening.

* * *

Three Weeks Earlier

* * *

Jaune stared in muted silence as he tried to fathom what he had just been told him. His breath hitched in his own throat as he stared at her worried form.

"F-five months? I-I was out for five months?" she nodded her head as the boy felt as if he was hit by a truck. "Five months...I've been out for that long?" he muttered to himself as Pyrrha could only stare in silent worry.

"Oh, so you are awake now?" a voice broke the silence as both occupants turned to the door, as Melaine Arc stood at the frame.

"G-grandma? What are you doing here?" he asked as the older woman chuckled and stood next to his bed.

"You forget already? I'm in charge of the Medical Facility here at Kaer Arc. I guess your time in the coma must have affected your memories?" Jaune shook his head.

"N-no nothing like that, I just meant what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be dealing with other patients?" he asked as the woman smirked.

"The only patient I have at the moment is you, the rest can be handled by my staff. Now that you're awake let's get you checked up. Pyrrha dear, can you help me run a few test?" she asked as Pyrrha nodded.

"O-Okay," she said as she got up from her seat and stood near his bed.

"Now you've suffered a slight case Muscle Atrophy since you've been in the coma for five months, for which I assume young Pyrrha here told you all about?" she asked as the boy nodded.

"Good, now we've done our best to limit the amount of muscle deterioration by administering therapeutic massage treatments to your muscles. But unfortunately, you still lost some muscle mass being bedridden for such a long period - not that you had much to work with huh?" she teased as she operated the bed control to reposition him in an upright position.

"So first off let's check your vitals," she began to check him over, as she flashed a small light into his eyes

"Pupil dilation is good, no sign of damage to the retinas, help me remove his gown," Pyrrha nodded and removed the top portion of his hospital gown. Melaine placed a stethoscope on his chest, listening carefully for his heartbeat and counted the beats per minute.

"Heart rate is normal, no sign of disruptions in the blood flow, breath please?" she commanded as the boy breathed in and out while her eyes glowed gold.

"No sufficient damage to your lungs, so that's good news and my semblance reveals that most of your internal organs are fully healed. But I must remind you that they had been under a serious amount of stress, so I advise you take it easy for a while. On the plus side your scars have healed up quite nicely," she said as Jaune looked down at the crisscrossing scars that now decorated his chest.

However, Pyrrha had a guilty look cross her face, as she turned away from the sight. Something that Jaune did not miss, as his grandmother re-buttoned his gown.

"Now that I know you are in good condition I'll let your father know you are awake, he's been anxious to hear your status," she said as Jaune looked confused.

"Dad? He actually cared about me?" he said as Melaine nodded.

"More than you can imagine, I'll go tell him you're awake," she said as she was about to leave the room.

"Wait! Grandma I almost forgot," she stopped at the doorway. "I...I met grandpa on the other side..." her ears perked slightly as Jaune smiled. "He misses you...and that he loves you very much," he said as she remained turned to him.

"...Knowing that idiot, he probably didn't have the chance to say it..." she said as she looked back and smiled. "But I know he would have said those words...thank you..." she said with a warm smile and then left the room to notify her son of his Jaune's awakening.

This had left the pair alone as Jaune and Pyrrha sat in complete silence. Nothing could be said between them, as Pyrrha still seemed to refuse to look at him, or more specifically at the area on his chest.

"Pyrrha?" he said as she still refused to look at him, "Are you ok-"

"Why?" her voice finally spoke out as he flinched at the sudden cold tone of her voice.

"Why did you go up there? Why did you put your life on the line for mine? Why would you do something so reckless?" she asked the question that had burned on her mind for months on end. Jaune looked conflicted as he tried to find the right words to say to her.

"...I could ask you the same thing," he said as she looked up at him.

"I knew what you were going to do and I just couldn't allow it. You and I both saw what she did Ozpin, and you were still willing to go up there. I just couldn't allow you to sacrifice yourself like that. Not when my life was more expendable," as soon as he said that, she grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him close to her face, warm tears brimmed at the corners of her eyes.

"How can you say that!? How could you think you had to sacrifice yourself for mine!"

"Because you were going to do the exact same thing!" he yelled back as he glared into her eyes.

"Don't think I didn't know what you were planning to do! You were going to go up there to fight her, weren't you! And probably get yourself killed! I bet you were even planning to push me into that locker if I didn't go? Didn't you!" she flinched slightly and let go of his shirt and he fell back into bed.

"I've known you long enough to know that you've always put others before yourself, that you try to shoulder the burden of everyone when you should be looking after yourself. It's one of the many things I've come to love about you. The fact that you care so much for others that you're even willing to risk your own life to do it..." he hung his head as he refused to look at her.

"But the thing is...I just couldn't imagine the thought of you dying up there...I just couldn't imagine going on without you...didn't you think how it would have affected the others? How would it have affected me? ...Didn't you care about me?" Pyrrha said nothing and glared at the boy before her.

"...And how do you think I felt when you went up?" he looked back to her as she turned her head from him.

"Did you think I felt safe knowing you went up in my place? Did you think I found comfort in the knowledge that you sacrificed yourself to save mine? ...Did you even know what your death did to me? What I felt when I saw Ruby's Uncle walk towards me with your body?"

Brief flashes of his lifeless corpse appeared in her mind as she squeezed her fist tight.

"Did you know how much it tore my heart out!? Seeing the amount of pain and suffering you put yourself through for my sake! DID YOU THINK I WAS GLAD YOU WERE DEAD! WHEN IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN ME!" she cried out as Jaune could only watch in muted silence

"But do you want to know something? The worst part about all this was that I realised I was going to put you through the same pain I felt..." her hands gripped tighter as tears began to fall.

"I was going to do the same thing to you...I was-I was..." she was stopped as Jaune, with a lot of shaking and a great amount effort, managed to lift his left arm and placed his hand on hers.

"Jaune?" he gripped her hand in his as he sighed softly.

"I'm sorry," he said as he stared at the frail state of his partner.

"I am so sorry...I never intended to hurt you the way I did. I-I just thought I was doing the right thing, putting my life on the line instead of yours, but I can see now how much it hurt you just it like it would do to me if our roles were reversed. We were both thinking that we'd be saving the other...but really we were hurting each other..." he gripped her hand as she placed another on his.

"I guess we're both guilty then? For thinking, we were doing the right thing?" he nodded as they shared a comforting silence.

"How about the both of us promise to never put ourselves in that situation again...promise?" he asked as the girl could only nod.

"Promise..." she said as she hugged the boy and held him tight. Jaune only wishing he could return the same if it weren't for his frail state.

The door then opened again as Pyrrha quickly separated from him as Roland walked into the room. He took a quick glance between the two as he could tell he just walked in on something personal.

"I hope I am not interrupting anything?" he asked as the pair blushed slightly and shook their heads. "Good, Miss Nikos if you don't mind, I would like to talk to my son for a moment?" he asked as she nodded.

"I'll be just outside, ok?" she said as he nodded and she quickly left the room.

An uncomfortable silence blanketed the room as the two just stared at each other. Roland looked at the frail state of his son, as he felt a clinging sense of guilt as he stood at the foot of the boy's bed.

"So..." he asked breaking the silence between them, "How are you feeling?" he asked as the boy could only nod from his position.

"I'm fine...my body feels like its made of lead, but other than that I'm good...how are you dad?" he asked as the man nodded.

"I-I'm good...I am good," the room was once again blanketed in awkward silence as father and son sat in the room. The man chuckled as he shook his head.

"You know, I should be angry at you right now. Furious even, for putting your life on the line like that. For making your mother and me worry for your safety and ground you for the rest of your life. But right now, I don't care about any of that. I am just happy, so happy that you're alive...and that you've come back to us," the man said as Jaune could have sworn for a moment he saw tears brimming in the man's eyes.

"Dad..."

"In any case, that's not fully why I came here," he said as he quickly erased all evidence of sadness from his eyes. "I also came here to tell you what you missed during your time in the coma...Miss Nikos," he called out as Pyrrha walked back into the room.

"Y-yes Mr Arc?"

"I think it would be best if you were present as we explain to Jaune what happened in his absence if that is alright with you?" he asked as she nodded and she took a seat next to Jaune's bed.

"Jaune was the last thing you remember?" Roland asked Jaune as tired to concentrate.

"I was...I was fighting someone...a woman I think? She had this power that she took from under the school, something that Ozpin knew about, he but didn't explain what?" he said as he remembered the moment in the vault that changed everything.

"I remember going up to the tower, I was fighting her and she was winning and then-!" a memory surged through his mind as a glass blade impaled through the stomach.

"She-she stabbed me...and I...I...I..." his breathing began to quicken as Pyrrha grabbed a hold of his hand for comfort.

"Jaune, are you all right?" his father asked as he nodded. "You don't have to continue," he said as Jaune shook his head.

"No, no I am fine, I am okay," he said as he managed to calm down. "After she sta-...after she hurt me, I remember everything going black...and then I remember meeting grandpa," he said as Roland's eyes widened a bit, while Pyrrha too gasped in shock.

"Grandpa? Did you meet my father on the other side? You've actually seen the other side!?" he exclaimed as Jaune nodded. "W-what was it like?" he asked furrowed his brow in deep thought, trying to remember what he saw.

"I-I can't remember? It's like every time I try and remember...my mind goes...blank?" Roland sighed as he heard this.

"I guess the living aren't meant to know what awaits us in the Kingdom Eternal? Anyway, back to the matter at hand. What did my father tell you?" Jaune concentrated as blurry memories came to him.

"I remember Grandpa telling me about my semblance and final inheritance. How it could activate when an Arc is close to..." his eyes then widened as he remembered.

"...Death..." he trailed off as he looked down at the scars on his chest. "Oh gods I died didn't I?" he asked as Roland only nodded.

"Yes, that's the only way Final Inheritance can be activated. Your body was damaged so much, that the curse of our family was activated and you gained the power of our ancestors. You then used that power to fight that woman and killed the Grimm Dragon, effectively saving the entire city of Vale from being consumed by Grimm," he said as he sighed.

"Now that you remember that much I can tell you what you missed out..." he steeled himself as he looked into his son's eyes.

"It's been five months since the 'Battle of Beacon' and Vale is still recovering from its injuries. More than half its population were killed during the assault with an estimated twenty-five percent of the casualties being foreign visitors," he explained as Jaune gasped slightly at the number.

"After your battle with that woman, the CCT Network was heavily damaged, effectively cutting off Vale from the rest of the Kingdoms. This had caused a massive surge of panic and disorder with the Kingdoms barely able to keep order," he explained to his son.

"But word quickly spread that you saved Vale from the Grimm Dragon, and the Kingdoms were able to regain order in their regions. We only just got the CCT backup a month ago and Kaer Arc has been coordinating with both Atlas and the Vale forces to regain order in the city. But the weakened state of Vale has forced the council to pull Huntsmans and soldiers from outlining regions in order to protect the main city. Leading to a large influx of Bandit and Grimm attacks across the borders...a lot of smaller regions were lost," Jaune cursed at this.

"Not every victory comes with the best results son, you just have to learn to live with what you have," he placed a hand on his shoulder. "But luckily thanks to your actions, Vale still stands and communications are back up and the people still have their lives thanks to you..." he said as he smiled at his son.

"What about the White Fang? I remember hearing that they were a part of the attack as well?" he vaguely remembered hearing the sounds of White Fang members charging towards the school.

"They were, but after it was revealed that they were being used - by a human no less - they have gone completely underground and no one has heard from them since. Or at the very least from the ones that attacked the school," Roland said as he crossed his arms.

"There have been rumours of White Fang search teams scouring the continent of Anima, searching for any sign of that woman Cinder or her cohorts, not that they are going to find her amongst the living," he said with a satisfying chuckle at the dead woman.

"The public face of the White Fang, however, is denying any knowledge of Cinder's true agenda. Though the council isn't buying it and I don't blame them, after the stunt they pulled. Though surprisingly less Faunus are joining the White Fang cause and some have even abandoned them. I guess they can't join a cause that can be so easily manipulated?" he sighed as he ran a hand through his hair.

"I'm not saying that the White Fang are completely innocent in this whole debacle, but the ones that willing signed up for the invasion of one of the Major Kingdoms and spilt the blood of many innocent people have caused dangerous tensions between them and the council. And they can't be excused no matter their reason..." he said as Jaune grew a little concerned, remembering there were Faunus soldiers under his father's command.

"Before you start worrying Jaune, relax, the men under my command know not to let things like race and ethnicity blind them to our purpose. Our goal is to ensure the survival of Kaer Arc and its people, nothing else matters," he said as he Jaune sighed in relief.

"...What about our friends? Are they safe?"

"Nora and Ren are here with us in the Fortress while Ruby, Yang and their Uncle have headed back to Patch. Ruby said that she would visit you the moment you woke up; I'll contact them as soon as we are done here...Yang, on the other hand, is still dealing with the loss of her arm..." she said as Jaune's eyes widened.

"Oh...right, I forgot...you didn't know...Yang lost her arm during the battle against the alleged leader of the White Fang, Adam Taurus, and her father and Uncle are trying their best to get her out of this funk. But she's refusing any help..." she said as Jaune stared in shock.

"Oh Gods..." she placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Don't worry I am sure she'll pull out of this, she's Yang, after all. She gets back up from anything...I hope... as for Weiss, she returned to Atlas with her father a day after we arrived at here-"

"After the man barged in here demanding she return with him or we'd face political consequences, apparently he doesn't trust anyone to look after his daughter, even though my son nearly sacrificed himself to save everyone. But no he just barged in demanded her to return and then left without s simple thank you," Roland interrupted as he crossed his arms.

"Jacques always thought he was above everyone else, and if he couldn't control you, he'd ignore you," he glared slightly at the memory of the man landing on the helipad and demanding Weiss to be handed over like he owned the place.

"As for Blake, she went missing about the same time you came back to life. Sun apparently has gone in search for her and we have no idea the status of his team, they are either with him or back at Haven Academy..." Pyrrha said as he nodded.

"And what about the others? CFVY and CRDL?"

"They're all back at Beacon helping with the repairs and aiding the refugees. It seemed that your sacrifice has inspired them to help out, which was surprising coming from Cardin of all people," she remembered getting the vid call from Goodwitch as she mentioned CRDL's involvement with the clean up.

"I guess you had a more positive influence on him than anyone expected?" Jaune smiled slightly at this, glad that his former bully was helping those in need.

"And that's about it son, everything you've missed since you've been out." Jaune nodded slightly and stared at his hands.

"Whoa...this is...this so unreal..." his father kneeled down and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"I know it's a lot to take in, even I still haven't fully grasped the situation...but just take solace in the fact that you prevented something much worse from happening," he patted his son on the shoulder as he smiled.

"You've made us very proud son, I'm very proud of you," Jaune felt a strange warmth flood his chest as he stared at his father.

"Dad..." he managed to say as his father smiled at him, but then his face grew serious again as removed his hand and stood back up.

"As much as I hate to spoil the mood, I've got to notify the council that you've awakened. They'll want a full debriefing of what happened after the feeds went dead. But I'm going to hold it off until you're fully healed up. Kaer Arc is under my command and they hold no authority over my family. You just focusing on getting better, and let me handle this...it's the only thing I can do for you after everything that's happened," he said as he walked towards the door.

"Wait a minute dad..." the man stopped as he turned to his son. "There was something else when I was fighting her...she said...that she _wasn't_ _alone_...there are _others_ that would finish her mission..." the man remained silent as he gripped the doorframe.

"So...Qrow was right? There are more pawns..." he said as he then left the room, leaving the two to glance at each other curiously as they wondered what he meant.

* * *

Present Day / Kaer Arc Medical Wing / Rehabilitation Centre

* * *

Jaune drank a large portion of the bottled water that Pyrrha handed him, as he relished in the cool sensation the liquid provided him. He made a satisfying sigh as he placed the cap back on the bottle.

"Thank you," he said as he handed her the bottle.

"No worries, you've been getting better Jaune, you made it to ten feet today and I am sure you'll make another ten feet tomorrow," she said as Jaune nodded slightly.

"Yeah, but I still need to be wheeled around in that thing for a while," he said as he pointed to the wheelchair next to them. "My body may be healed, but my muscles are taking a bit longer to get better. Who knew aura couldn't heal fatigue?" he said as she giggled slightly.

"Everyone knows that Jaune" he pouted.

"Well I didn't, I wish I knew that sooner, then I wouldn't have to be wheeled around like an old man," he made a wrinkly face. "Hey, you kid's! Stay off my grass!" he mimicked with a fist shaking in the air, as Pyrrha laughed at his impression.

"Hahaha! Stop it Jaune!" she laughed as he soon joined her. But the laughter soon died down as he looked down at his legs and he held his thigh.

"...Hard to believe it's been three weeks huh? Still feels like my body is made of lead and it's not easy for me to walk around by myself, which is a pain in the ass...but I am glad you're here to help me," he said as she smiled a little.

"Which reminds me, aren't your parents going to worry about you? I mean you haven't seen them since the battle, wouldn't you want to head home and let them know you are ok?" he asked Pyrrha had a small smile on her face as she shook her head.

"No, I told them I wasn't coming back until you were all better. They tried to convince me to come home and continue my duelist career, but I wasn't going to leave my partner behind, right?" she smiled before a sullen look took its place.

"Besides..." she gripped the bottle in her hand as she glared at the floor. "It's my fault you ended up this way. So it's my responsibility to help you get better," she said with a defeated tone in her voice as Jaune sighed.

"Pyrrha, you've got to stop blaming yourself for what happened to me, I am ok now, you don't have to-" she shook her head as she refused to look at him.

"But if I had just _listened_ to you and escaped to the city to get help, none of this would have happened!" Jaune shook his head.

"You can't say that. We still don't know what would have happened if both of us left, Cinder might have gotten away or done something worse. You were right that she had to be held off, but it was stupid of me to go up against her alone and it was selfish of us to think either of us had to go...we should have stuck together, maybe we would have had a better chance?" he asked as she looked away.

"Maybe..." the room was once again blanketed in silence.

The pair looked at anything other than themselves as they sat alone in the Rehab Centre. Not knowing what to say next after having a small heart to heart about their actions roughly six months ago. Bu then something sparked in Pyrrha's head as she just remembered something very important.

"H-Hey, Jaune?" Pyrrha said as she broke the silence,

"Yeah, Pyrrha?"

"I-I just remembered something," a small blush worked its way on her face as she started fidgeting slightly.

"We haven't really talked about what happened..."

"What happened? Didn't we just talk about it?"

"Not that. You know, after we left the Vault? At the base of the Tower?" he still confused, as her face was now completely red. "When you...kissed me?"

Jaune stared for a moment before his mind clicked and a huge blush came over his face.

"O-Oh...oh...y-yeah...the kiss...right," Instantly memories came back of what he had done and said at the base of the tower, as the sensation of her lips on his came rushing back.

The only reason the two had not confronted them about this, was because they had spent so much time helping his recovery that the very memory of their kiss had vanished from memory. It wasn't until they had begun talking about the incident that Pyrrha remembered that one magical moment in her life that was now tainted with the memory of what transpired afterwards.

But now that the battle was over, and the dust had settled, it was time for them to see where it was their relationship would head. Would they break down the barriers between their friendship and start something wonderful and new?

Or had Jaune's actions sealed its fate?

"So..." a pregnant pause drifted between them as they sat in silence. "Are we...are we going to talk about?" she asked as Jaune nodded and managed to cobble together whatever courage he had left.

"Yeah...yeah, we should..." once again silence fell between them.

"Pyrrha can I tell you something?" he asked as she nodded. "There is a reason why I kissed, and not because I thought I was going to die," he said as he laced his fingers together.

"I did it because...because I genuinely like you. I mean like-like you. Ever since the dance a few months ago I'd been feeling...different about you..." he said as she nodded.

"I know, your mother told me while you were in your coma" Jaune's eyes winded at this.

"She what!? I told her that in complete confidence! Way to break the family code of trust mum!" he yelled out as he glared towards the door.

* * *

Meanwhile, in the living room of the fortress, Diane sneezed as her daughters and the guards stared at her.

* * *

He sighed as he looked back at her.

"Anyway, ever since then I had begun to think...differently...about you and started to notice all these things you did for me while never asking anything in return. And the more I thought about them, the more I began to realise that I was seeing less as a partner and a friend and more as...something else?" Pyrrha listened intensely as she gripped her hands tight.

"I didn't know what it was and I had no idea how I should feel about it and I couldn't talk to you or anyone in our team about it without making things...you know, awkward?" he said as she nodded slightly.

"So when I called my mum and told her what I was feeling, she told me that I was developing 'feelings' for you and that I should tell you before something happened that could ruin it,"

"...Understatement of the century..." Pyrrha muttered as she thought about the invasion.

"And that's what I was going to tell you before your match with Penny that day," Pyrrha flinched slightly as Jaune caught on. "Oh shit, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"It's all right, please continue," she stopped him as she shook her head, the memory of Penny's death still weighing heavy on her soul.

"Okay...anyway, before the match, I wanted to talk to talk to you about my feelings and see what would happen. But ever since you came back from Ozpin's office you'd been acting...different? Like the weight of the world was just placed on your shoulders," he said as he shook his head.

"If I had known what was going on, I would have just told my feelings and maybe it would have stopped you from doing whatever it was that Ozpin wanted you to do...but then..."

"I pushed you away?" he nodded as she laced her fingers together.

"I'm sorry I did that Jaune. There was just so much going on and everything that they told it made me question everything about my destiny, and made me wonder what my purpose was? Was I meant to be a Huntress? Or was some other destiny waiting for me?" she sighed as she looked down.

"I always thought my destiny was to help make the world a better place...But now...I just don't know any-huh?" Jaune placed his hand on hers and she looked at him.

"Pyrrha, there's something I should have told you when you talked to me about destiny. Something I think you really need to hear..." he then leant close to her as he stared into her eyes.

"I don't believe in destiny" she looked slightly stunned as he nodded at her.

"What? But Jaune, don't you believe in something greater for your life, that somewhere out there is your true calling, your destiny? What you were meant to do?" Jaune shook his head as he gripped her hand.

"Not really, because if I believed that, then I never would have gone to Beacon..." she looked confused. "I should probably explain, I assume you've probably wondered why I never received training from my parents, right?" she nodded as he looked down slightly.

"Well, there is a reason behind it..." he said as he sighed.

"You see when I was born the doctors said there were complications with my birth and that I wasn't expected to live past a week," Pyrrha gasped slightly at this.

"I don't know exactly what was wrong with me, but apparently I was born prematurely and very weak, so weak that they were surprised that I even came out alive at all. For a whole week, my parents had to watch me through a plastic container as I breathed small shallow breaths, clinging desperately to what little life I had inside me. From what I gathered it was heartbreaking for them..." he said as Pyrrha could only look on in horror and sadness as tears gathered in her eyes.

"But somehow, I survived and lived far longer than anyone expected, and my parents were so happy knowing I was going to live. My grandfather always used to say that it was a sign of the true strength that was hidden within me," he said with a smile before his smile fell.

"But my parents always believed it was a sign that I was never meant to be huntsmen, and decided it was best I was never trained to be one and just live a normal life..." he shook his head.

"All my life the people around me would tell me that I wasn't meant to be a hunter, that it was my destiny to be just a normal person and live a normal life free from hurt...but I just couldn't accept that," he said as he smiled softly

"I know my parents were just trying to protect me and I can understand why they did it...but the thing is I didn't want to live a 'normal life'. I wanted to be like my parents, I wanted to be like the heroes my family are and protect the people that are close to me. I didn't want people to save me, I didn't want to be the damsel in distress...I wanted to be a hero..."

That last line was familiar to Pyrrha as she remembered the night he told her about his transcripts.

"So when I turned seventeen - and became a legal adult - I got hold of some transcripts and I never looked back. Because if destiny said that I was meant to live a life that was not of my own choosing...then I _refuse_ to believe in it..."

Now she understood why he was determined to be a huntsman despite his lack of training. He didn't want to be a damsel in distress and have others constantly save him because all his life they believed he needed to be saved. He wanted to prove them wrong, he wanted to prove that he could be strong on his own, he wanted to defy the destiny others had placed on him...

He wanted to be a hero...

A soft squeeze of her hand brought him back to reality as he turned to see her smiling face. "Jaune...you'll always be a hero to me, no matter what you do..." Jaune smiled softly at her.

"Thank you Pyrrha, for everything" suddenly Jaune felt something compelling him as stared into her emerald eyes as they suddenly entranced him.

"Pyrrha..." he muttered as she stared back into his own eyes.

"Jaune..." she whispered as they sat alone in the room.

They felt their bodies leaning towards each other, as their eyes slowly closed and their lips were but an inch from each other, as the mood around them screamed of pent up passion and romance...

"Jaune, the council wants to-" "GAH!" "EEK!" Only to be ruined by the timely arrival of Jaune's father.

The sudden appearance by his dad had caused the boy to inadvertently jump in fright only for his legs to give out on him and fell face first to the floor. While Pyrrha landed on top of him and unintentionally sent out a magnetic wave that sent the wheelchair flying across the room and slam into the wall beside Roland.

Luckily the man had years of experience not to overact to a flying wheelchair; after all, he did go through several or so births with his wife. And she threw much, much heavier stuff at him...

So imagine to his surprise that he now finds his son lying on the floor with the Nikos girl laying across his torso and seeming held in a tender embrace. It was quite funny to see actually.

"...Have I interrupted something? Cause I can come back later if you want?" both teens blushed as Pyrrha quickly got off him.

"No! No! Nothing was interrupted Mister Arc! We swear!" Pyrrha said as Jaune slightly pouted at that.

"Well I wouldn't say that" he muttered as it earned a slight glare from her, even as a huge blush came upon her face, to which the boy just raised his hands in defence.

Roland, on the other hand, was smiling warmly at the sight of his son and the girl that was his partner. "In any case, what did you want to talk about dad?" he said wondered what the man had interrupted him and Pyrrha for.

"I came in to let you know that it's time son, the council wants your debriefing on the event five months ago," he said as Jaune instantly understood.

"The only reason we haven't contacted them until now was because they decided to let you fully heal up, but somehow word got out about the state of your recovery and they demanded that you speak to them right away." Jaune nodded his head as he slowly managed to climb back onto the bench.

"But why would they want my report? Didn't they see what happened on the Network?" he asked the man nodded.

"They did, but before the outcome of your fight could be broadcasted the feed went dead and the CCT tower was destroyed. The only other testimony they received was from your friend, Ruby Rose, but even she doesn't know what happened after she blacked out. They want to know everything Jaune, even the stuff you told me," he said as Jaune nodded.

"Can you grab my wheelchair please?" he asked as Roland nodded and retrieved the wheelchair for his son, while Pyrrha helped in into it.

"Let's go," he said as they began to make their way to the Communications Centre.

Kaer Arc was a massive fortress created long ago by his ancestors and was tasked with protecting the smaller villages that outlined its borders of Vale, which was responsible for the harvesting of crops and mining of minerals and dust. In order to properly coordinate with the villagers and the fortress, the keep was equipped with a communications hub capable of relaying orders to soldiers deployed within the region.

So when the CCT Network had fallen, Kaer Arc was the only facility in the region that was able to keep in contact with the smaller settlements and was able to successfully hold out against Bandit attacks and following Grimm surges following the battle of Vale. But unfortunately when the CCT Network fell the Keep was cut off from the other kingdoms .

Luckily thanks to the efforts of the Atlas and Kaer Arc forces, order and security were reestablished within the Kingdom of Vale and the CCT was back up and running. And now that the crisis had passed, and the world was beginning to heal.

The council, however, needed to hear what Jaune had learned in his final moments at the top of the tower. While the world had seen the events that transpired five months ago, thanks to Jaune's clever thinking, the final moments were unknown to a large amount of the public. And only recently had Jaune told his father and his friends about the warning he received from Cinder before her death.

That she was not alone in her endeavour, and that more would be coming to finish her mission by any means necessary.

The three made their way down to the Com's Centre, passing by the many paintings and trophies that decorated the hallway of the Fortress. Each one they passed made Jaune reflect on his actions, wondering if had lived up to his family's expectations of a warrior and a hero?

"JAUNEY! PYRRHA!" a voice called out as he turned to see Ren and Nora a bit further from them. Nora waving ecstatically while the Ren only smiled at his brother.

They had been staying at the fortress for the past five months, as they had nowhere else to go. They spent most of their time helping Jaune recuperate or trained in the combat arena housed inside the facility.

"Hey Ren, Nora, how are you liking my home?"

"It's great, there are so many rooms here! And they have the best pancakes, but not as good as Renny's, no offence Mister Arc?" Nora said as the man chuckled.

"None taken Miss Valkyrie, and how about you Mister Ren? How have you been enjoying the facility? He asked as the boy nodded.

"I am enjoying it rather well, the library has a lot of books I've been meaning to catch up on. And I do enjoy spending time in the Zen-like garden you keep on one of the outlooks, it is very well maintained," he said as Roland chuckled.

"You can thank my daughter Vertes for that, she's always had a green thumb when it came to gardening," Jaune remembered helping out his sister's garden when she was away on a mission.

"So what are you up to fearless leader? You finish Jaune's rehab for the day?" Nora asked as she looked over at the two, "Anything...interesting happen?" she wiggled her eyebrows as Jaune and Pyrrha blushed.

"Nothing happened Nora, we're actually on our way to the Communication's Hub, it's time I reported to the Council about my involvement at the tower" Nora's bright face dimmed slightly as she remembered the battle.

"Oh..." Ren placed a comforting hand on her shoulder as he then nodded to Jaune.

"Don't worry, it won't take long. I promise" Pyrrha said as she stood behind Jaune as he nodded to her.

"We best get moving, the Council doesn't like to be kept waiting...Gods know they should learn patience" the man muttered as they nodded.

"See you guys later," they nodded and made their way to the Communication Centre.

The three soon entered a large room, as men and woman were operating monitors and radio's relaying orders and monitoring movements outside the perimeter. One of the men soon stood before them as they saluted Jaune and Roland.

"Sir, we are receiving a transmission on the secure frequency, ID code verifies it as the Council," the man said as Roland nodded.

"Direct the transmission to the CIC room," the man nodded as he gestured towards a large set of doors and Roland walked inside.

When Jaune and Pyrrha walked into the room, they were completely confused by the state of darkness that engulfed the room, with only one source of light shining down from the ceiling and onto a large circular pad in the centre of the room.

"Come on," he gestured to the two, who followed behind cautiously as Pyrrha moved his wheelchair into the light.

As soon as they stepped onto the pad, the sound of a machine began humming as four separate light sources at each corner of the room lowered from the ceiling and shone a bright light on them, covering their bodies in blue squares before instantly disappearing.

Now instead of a dark room, they now stood in a large circular room with a hollow circular table surrounding them, as several distorted figures sat at each seat, with one image not distorted as they instantly recognised the man as General Ironwood.

The pair noticed that each section of the room reflected a different background as the several figures sat before them.

One sat before a large snow covered mountaintops, another an endless sea of sand and wind, while the last two had a large mountain ranges and an endless sea of forest. Roland turned to the pair as they gazed around in wonder.

"Children, allow me to introduce to you the Council of Remnant, the men and woman charged with governing our world," he said as he gestured to the figures around them.

"Commander Arc, it is a pleasure to see you. We are sorry that all of us can't be seen clearly as we are still working out the technical difficulties in the Network over long distances. While the CCT is back up and running, communications are still fuzzy and distorted, in certain." General Ironwood said as he welcomed the man from his Airship over Vale.

"General Ironwood, it's good to see you again. I wasn't aware you were on the Council now?" Roland said as he gazed at the man.

"General Ironwood is one of our most trusted members of this council, as he was one of the few who remained focused and steadfast when the crisis had begun," one of the councilmen said as they could make out the sound of a woman whose image distorted briefly.

"Nevertheless, we are humbled by your presences and thank you for your families contribution in reestablishing order in the city of Vale, especially you young Arc. The hero that saved Remnant from falling into the clutches of darkness. You have our sincerest thanks," another voice said, this time an elderly man with a joyous-sounding voice said, as the other figures nodded while Jaune blushed slightly at the praise.

"You have done your country and your family a great service young man, for which I am eternally grateful," Ironwood said as Jaune nodded.

"Don't be so humble Ironwood?" a sarcastic voice said as they turned to see another man appear before them and sat on the council seat.

"The only reason you weren't stripped of your rank and demoted to a minimal position is because this boy shed light on your incompetence. You owe the boy much more than that," he said as Ironwood glared.

"Major Cobalt, I don't know you would be attending this meeting," he said as the man smirked at him.

"Actually its General now, I was recently promoted after the events of Beacon Fall after my soldiers helped to regain order from what was left of your fleet. With contributions from the Arc Family of course," the man gestured to Roland who glared at the man.

"Dad, who is that?" Jaune asked as the man sighed.

"Jaune allow me to introduce Major- sorry, General Cobalt, the head of the Atlesian Black Operations Division. His fleet was the only other Atlesian ships close enough to help provide relief for the people of Vale and took over from Ironwood after he was ordered to report back to Atlas. He has a known reputation of protecting the people of Atlas with strong determinations..." he then turned as he glared at the man.

"Though his treatment of the Faunus citizen could have been conducted less...hostilely," the man said as Cobalt only smirked.

"Vale had just been attacked by a joint force of Grimm and White Fang, there was a strong possibility that some of them could have been White Fang infiltrators masquerading amongst them as citizens. I took the necessary precautions to ensure the populace's safety," Roland only glared.

"By separating the Humans and the Faunus into different camps?" the man only smirked at this.

"A necessary precaution, one that I would willing do again if it meant the safety of Remnant," Jaune and Pyrrha glared at him.

"Enough General Cobalt, that is not why we are here today," a mature sounding voice said as the image crossed his fingers together.

"The reason we have requested this audience is to discuss the events that transpired during the 'Battle of Beacon' something you played a tremendous part in?" he said as Jaune nodded.

"As you are aware, all of Remnant had watched your battle over the CCT network, where you engaged an unknown conspirator planning to plunge Vale into chaos," the woman said this time as she leant forward in her seat.

"But during its last minutes of transmission the broadcast was cut off and the conclusion to the battle remained a mystery to the rest of the world," the elderly man said as he touched the surface of his desk as a holographic screen appeared before them.

Jaune in the footage was kneeling on the floor before a shard of glass struck him in his shoulder, falling on his back as the severely wounded Cinder was limping towards him.

Pyrrha instantly turned her head as Jaune was hit by a powerful memory and he subtly grasped his shoulder in memory. The fear and pain he felt that day came back to him in full force that he could almost feel the shard of glass digging into his flesh. Roland noticed this as he made a subtle gesture to the councilmen, who nodded and turned off the screen.

"In any case, other than the testimony of one Ruby Rose, there are still roughly three minutes of events that have not been accounted for. Mainly between the time the transmission ceased and the time Ruby Rose was conscious. Would you be kind enough to shed some light on the subject?" the man said as Jaune nodded.

"After she struck me down, I thought my life was over, not that I was afraid of dying because of my...uh...semblances side effect,"

"You mean killing effect of Final Inheritance?" Cobalt said as Jaune looked up in horror.

"We know of your families 'hidden ability', and we are fully aware of the consequence of activating such as 'fascinating' ability," he said as Roland was infuriated by this remark as he glared at the man.

"It's anything but 'fascinating'! it is a curse on our family! One that we usually keep secret from the world! The only reason I informed this council of Final Inheritance and its abilities was to explain my son's unusual resurrection!" he said as Jaune stared at his father.

"It has taken too many of my family to be praised as a gift. I just thank the gods that my son was returned to me," he said as the man turned to his son.

"I see, I apologise for any _offence_ I may have caused you, please continue young man." Jaune stared uncomfortably at the strange glint in the man's eye.

"Um...as I was saying after she knocked me down she was ready to kill me, but then Ruby showed up and fought her," the council nodded at this, seeing how it was documented in the debriefing with Ruby.

"She fought her, but then got knocked out and she focused her attention on trying to kill Ruby instead of me. I managed to gather up whatever strength I had left and stabbed Cinder in the heart with my sword and pinned her to the floor, then she started to overload and exploded and that is about it..." he then stopped as he remembered something.

"Oh, crap! Crocea! I completely forgot about it! I must left it back at the tower!" he exclaimed as he grabbed his hair with his hands.

"Yes, 'Crocea Mors' the blade that was passed down to your family for generations, and the same one that you used to defeat the Dragon. Rest assured young man that the blade completely safe," the elderly voice said as he pressed a few keys on the table.

A holographic image appeared as teams of scientist were surrounding the blade impaled into the floor as Jaune instantly recognised the surroundings as Ozpin's office, the place where he and Cinder fought. But the office was completely different as the damaged areas were being held up and reinforced with iron bars, as white plastic covered the floors and walls.

"After your battle with the woman called 'Cinder,' the Atlesian Technical Team was deployed to reconstruct the CCT tower in order to re-establish the Network. However, when the teams got there they discovered something strange..." the councilman said as he pressed a few keys on the table.

"When they reached the top of the tower, they discovered your sword was still impaled in the floor with the area around the blade completely intact, minus the damage that was already caused by the massive explosion," a holographic layout of the tower with the sword at the top floor appeared before them.

"For some reason the sword seems to be emitting a strange form of energy into the structure, keeping the tower from completely falling. Attempts to remove the sword have been...unsuccessful..." the councilwoman said as she pressed a few keys.

It showed Atlesian soldiers attempting to pull the sword out, only for it to remain sealed into the floor. It even showed images of mechanical units attempting to remove the sword, only for their arms to be completely ripped off from the strain. They were completely shocked to see even an entire warship using heavy cables couldn't even budge the sword.

"Rather than tamper any further, we decided to build around the blade in order to reestablish the CCT network. That way should - the sword ever be removed - the tower will not fall," the elder councilman said as Cobalt stared at the blade.

"It defies logic...how did your family ever come to possess such a weapon?" Cobalt asked as he kept his eyes on the sword as its symbols continued to glow softly.

"The sword was given to us long ago by a strange man, who said that it would assure our families victory over the coming darkness and protect the 'treasures' of the past? Or so the old legend used to go," Roland explained as he eyed the ancestral sword.

"I don't know much about the sword, it was locked away in the family vault since I was a child and my father was the only one whoever understood the blade but never wielded it himself. He was always saying that the sword itself as just a 'container' for something much more? In any case, not even I can remove it...which is odd because it never did that before," he said as he sent a subtle glance to his son.

"Enough about the sword," Ironwood said as the screen disappeared.

"We are straying away from the topic at hand, Mister Arc, during your battle with this woman, did she tell you anything before she died? Anything that could be useful?" he asked as Jaune nodded.

"She did..." the council leant in at this. "She said...she wasn't alone, and that more were coming..." the council looked concerned at this.

"Hmm, This is troubling," one of the councilmen, said as he placed a hand on his chin.

"If what you say is true, then the other Kingdoms are at potential risk, and if there are more of them..." he said as he placed his hands on the desk.

"We need to reinforce our borders, start doing background checks on all citizens in the Kingdoms and start by hunting down all her known associates. Unfortunately, the Dust Embargo on Atlas must remain in case more dust falls into the hands of the White Fang, who could still be potential allies to Cinders associates," the councilman from Vale said as the Atlas councilman nodded.

"I understand, it is for the good of our Kingdom...thought the Schnee corporation will not like it," he said as he could just imagine Jacques annoyed face.

"If that is all, then this session is over," the councilman said, as he was about to shut off the transmission.

"Wait! There is something we still haven't discussed," Jaune called out as they turned back to the boy.

"What about the Grimm? The ones that helped attack the school, Cinder said that there was someone out there controlling them. Could this person have been her ally or maybe even the real mastermind behind the Beacon Invasion? Shouldn't you guys make that your top priority?" he asked as the council shared a glance with each other.

"Mister Arc, while it is true that the sight of the Grimm attacking the school with the White Fang is concerning, there is no evidence to support that they were being controlled by an outside source," the councilman said as Jaune stared in shock.

"What?! What about the Dragon? It listened to her, isn't that proof enough?" the council shook their heads.

"This woman was a manipulator Mister Arc, for all we know she may have developed a device or technique to temporarily control the Dragon, maybe similar to her cohort Emerald Sustrai. The rest of the Grimm, on the other hand, were out of control and mindlessly attacked the city. The idea that every Grimm on this earth is being controlled by one person is preposterous," the Vacuo Councilman said as the Mistral Councilwoman leant forward.

"Which is why we deemed it essential to place the sole blame of the Beacon Invasion on Cinder and the White Fang who participated in the attack, as they were the ones that dared to harm the city of Vale," the Mistral councilwoman said as Jaune shook his head as Pyrrha stepped forward.

"What about Ozpin? He believed that there was someone out there targeting the Maidens. You were there General Ironwood, didn't he tell you anything?" she asked as the man solemnly shook his head.

"Ozpin kept many secrets, even from his own inner circle, not even Glynda knew all his secrets and I had only just joined his fold. If he knew something about this, he didn't tell me. The only other person he trusted was Qrow and he refuses to tell this council anything about what he was up to," he said as he looked away in memory.

"As for the Maidens, this Council is already aware of their existence and are taking the necessary precautions to keep them safe," Cobalt said as his form disappeared.

"We thank you for all of your service young ones, but now it's time to let the adults handle it," the Vale elder councilman said as he folded his arms together. "This is no longer your fight..."

Jaune was prepared to argue but was stopped as his father placed a hand on his shoulder and shook his head. Begrudgingly he complied as he kept his mouth shut, Pyrrha looking at him with worry as the projections shut off and they were returned to the CIC.

Jaune continued to hang his head as he glared at the floor. His hands gripped tightly to his legs as he remembered briefly the images he saw on the other side.

* * *

Three shadows lurked in the darkness as they stood before the presence of a fourth, whose red eyes glared out into the darkness and commanded the forces of Grimm in all their terror.

* * *

"How could they not believe me? How can they be so?" he muttered to himself, as his father stared at his son and left the two alone in the now lit room. Pyrrha walked up as she placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, he turned to face her as she sent a worried glance to the boy.

"Jaune? Are you ok?" she asked as he nodded.

"Yeah, yeah I am fine...you understand right? We can't just sit here and do nothing, we have to stop them and we have to-"

"Jaune," Pyrrha said as she interrupted the boy. "I think maybe its best that we just do as the council say's and stay out of this, let the grown ups hand this..."

Jaune could only stare as he turned his wheelchair to face her, shock evident on his face as he stared at her guilt-ridden face.

"What!? But you were there; you saw what happened with the Grimm, you've seen what they can do! We have to stop them if the council won't do anything about it; then it is up to us to-"

"Jaune just stop! Please just stop!" she yelled as the room was basked in silence. She looked at the boy with tears in her eyes as she shook her head.

"I nearly lost you getting involved with all this!" she said as she waved her hand to the room. "Ozpin dragged us into a war we shouldn't have been apart of! He placed all of us in danger when he kept that-that thing! Under the school!" she pointed to the door.

"If I had known that saying yes to any of that, knowing it would have hurt you, I would have said no! I would have let them choose someone else instead! I should have let them choose someone else to be the Fall Maiden! I should have-!" she stopped when a sob was hitched in her throat as the boy could only stare at her.

"I can't lose you again Jaune...I can't go through something like that again...I just can't," her voice racked with grief as Jaune lowered his head as he absorbed everything that she told him.

Another reason why they never addressed what happened to them five months ago...was guilt. Guilt over the decisions they made, and the decisions they didn't make. Constantly asking them whether or not what they did was the right thing. And it was eating them up on the inside.

They were kids after all...kids that were thrown into a harsh and cold world...

Jaune looked away as Pyrrha stared at him with worry, thinking maybe she had gone too far telling him to stop. But he turned his head back as he looked at her.

"I'm sorry...I didn't mean to make you feel that way, I forgot how much this affected you and I'm sorry...but I came back for a reason, not just for you and I need to find out...But for now I'll drop it and we'll talk about it later," he said as she nodded

"Thank you," she said as she placed her hand on the handle of the chair and guided him back to his room.

All the while never noticing the look in his eyes as he stared back at the CIC and thought about the mistake the council was about to make...

* * *

Later in Jaune's Room

* * *

Night had fallen over the keep as the night watchmen began to patrol around the perimeter of the facility. Everyone in the keep was fast asleep, as the day's events had exhausted them.

Ren and Nora shared the same room next to Jaune's as Nora lay spread out across the mattress snoring like a beast, with her foot directly in Ren's face as the sleeping boy paid no heed to it, while Pyrrha slept in a spare bed opposite of Jaune as her long red hair was spread across the sheets.

Jaune stared at her as he sat on the edge of his bed and held in his hands his scroll that was recovered after the battle. Surprisingly the object had survived all that he went, though, and only come out with a few scratches on its white metal.

He played with the small device in his hands before he placed the scroll down as he grabbed a crutch from his bed and slowly walked towards the window.

From from the view of his window, he could see the lights from the village below him as they shimmered like stars in the night sky, the guard's torches moving across the walls of the keep as they kept a dutiful eye out for danger.

But Jaune could only look out further as he seemed to glare out into the distance.

The meeting with the council still on his mind as he thought about the decision they made to ignore the possibility of someone controlling the Grimm. He kept thinking about what Cinder had told him before she died, that 'she' was coming after them.

But who was 'she' and why was she trying to destroy them? Questions that he needed answers to.

"I came back for a reason, I need to know who 'she' is and what she's planning. But if the council won't help me, I need to do something," he looked over to Pyrrha she curled up beneath the sheets.

"I can't put my friends through that again, I can't put her through that again...I need to do this alone...but how? Where would I even begin?"

Almost as if the universe was responding to him, a silent ping came from his scroll as he looked down at the device. He stared curiously as he noticed he had a message received on his scroll, but the user came up unknown and the message was green.

He cautiously opened the scroll as his eyes widened at the message along with a set of coordinates; he looked over to Pyrrha as she turned in her sleep, her face calm and serene as she slept a peaceful sleep.

He looked down at the scroll again as he gripped his fist and nodded his head.

He knew what he had to do...

Silently he moved towards the end of his room as he drew from his closet a new set of clothes consisting of a white T-shirt, blood red hoodie, black jeans and brown leather boots. He looked back towards Pyrrha as he slowly limped towards her bed as he brushed a small strand of hair from his face. He stared silently at the girl as he placed a small kiss on her forehead.

"Pyrrha...I'm sorry...but I have to do this...I love you and I hope you can forgive me..."

He then got up as stumbled slightly and steadies himself before making his way towards the exit. He silently opened the door as he took one last look towards her before he shut the door behind him and snuck away into the night.

He knew that they would be angry, and he knew that they would come after him. But he also knew that he couldn't stand by and do nothing not after everything he had seen and everything he had done, there was no way he would stop now.

This was the beginning of a series of events that would change the world forever.

This was the beginning of The Remnant Knight...

* * *

 **And scene, well here is Chapter V of the Remnant Knight. Sorry for the long wait I was working on a project for University and I didn't have a lot of spare time to write a new chapter. But I am on my holiday break now and hopefully I can write more chapters. In this chapter I wanted to show how Jaune nearly dying would have affected Pyrrha, how she would blame herself for what happened to him and how she would want nothing more but to stay away from that life. But like the stubborn idiot he is, he just can't say no.**

 **Jaune has received a strange message from an unknown source telling him to go somewhere strange. Who could have contacted him and why? What will happen to our heroes? Don't worry Jaune won't be doing this alone, no way Pyrrha and the others will let him go off on his own, not without help.**

 **Stay tuned next time in Chapter VI: Determination**


	6. Chapter VI: Determination

RWBY: The Remnant Knight

There are many paths in life, some that are set in stone and some that are in a state of flux...then there are the ones that defy the course of fate. This is one such path where destiny is defied and the path of a Knight is forged in blood, steel and magic. This is the Rise of the Remnant Knight.

* * *

 **A/N Just to be clear in my version Jaune's home is located north of Vale. And the place I am sending him is that island between the continents of Solitas (Atlas continent) and Sanus (Vale's continent), the island Vytal. Look it up on the Map. Just so there is no confusion. Just to be clear.**

* * *

Chapter VI: Determination

* * *

The shattered moon of Remnant hung silently in the midnight sky as the gentle sound of crickets serenaded the stillness of the forest. Small woodland creature huddled together as they took shelter for the night amongst the branches and hollows of the forest.

All was peaceful and all was quiet.

Until suddenly the pounding feet of a horse dashed through the forest, on its back was a boy dressed in a blood red hoodie, black jeans and leather brown boots held the reigns to the horse much tighter as he dashed through the forest at breakneck speeds. His dark brown travellers cloak fluttered rapidly against the wind as the sword jostled in its sheath upon his back.

The light from the moonlight shone down upon the road as it guided his way through the dark forest. He pulled the horse to a stop as he brought out his scroll and checked his location on the map.

"It's just ahead, I should be getting close now," he said to himself as he peered out into the darkness and then rode off into the night.

After he snuck away from the Keep's inner gates, he managed to make his way to the stables and pass himself off as one of the stable hands and used the opportunity to take one of the horses in the stable. He then snuck away through the village surrounding the keep and mingled with travellers and merchants leaving the Keep. Luckily the outer guards didn't look twice his way, as he left the village. But that wasn't important.

What was important was the fact that the coordinates he received were supposed to take him to Vytal Island, a small island located between the northernmost point of Sanus and the southernmost point of Solitas, the place where the Great War had its final battle. Luckily his home was only located half way between the city of Vale and Vytal Island, so the trip would not take him long on horseback. And if the reports he heard were correct, the Grimm in Sanus were being surprisingly scares since the Dragons death five months ago, which meant he should be able to reach his destination without any trouble.

What he didn't know was why the person needed him to go there at all, or why they contacted him, but the information that was given to him was something he couldn't ignore. Information regarding the whereabouts of one of Cinders old contacts located somewhere in Mistral. The message wasn't exactly clear on who the contact was, only a vague message referring to a friend? But if there was someone out there that was willing to help him, he couldn't pass up the opportunity.

He soon left the forest as he came upon the sight of a small town situated before a large sea, from the looks of it the town was mostly a fishing village as he could see small ships docked at the port. Across from the town, over the sea, he could see a large island in the distance. He checked his scroll again as he made sure he was heading in the right direction.

"Ok, so whoever this person wants me to go over there? And to get there I need to get on a ship?" he asked himself as he already knew his answer. "Well I need to get there fast, there's no telling when the others will wake up, and when they do I have no doubt they will come after me," he said as he looked back towards his home.

A feeling of guilt washed over him as he thought about leaving his friends behind, about leaving Pyrrha behind, even after making a promise not to do anything reckless. He knew it was stupid and he knew that she would have tried to stop him, but he just couldn't let her stop him. But after everything she told him about the maidens and why she was down there in the first place, he couldn't risk getting her involved in something like this again...

He needed to do this alone

Shaking his head he steered the horse towards the town, ready to search for anyone that would be willing to take him to the island, even if he had to get a paddle boat and row there himself.

* * *

Kaer Arc / Jaune Arc's Room

* * *

A small ping resonated in the room as Pyrrha was awakened by the sound of her scroll going off. She absently turned over to grab her scroll as blurry eyes searched for the scroll. Her hand tapping against the bed rest until she finally found the scroll and opened it up, grunting slightly as the sudden bright blinded her.

"Who would be texting at this hour?" she thought as she slowly rose from the bed and opened the message.

No sooner than did she that a shock of adrenaline shot through her system, removing any traces of sleep as her head instantly snapped over to Jaune's bed. Quickly running over to his bed she pulled back the covers and felt her heart instantly drop into her stomach.

Jaune was gone

Running over to his closet, she flung them opened as she noticed some of his clothes were missing, along with his boots, spare hoodie and scroll that he usually left on the side of his bed. Normally one would assume they were only missing because they were dirty and were in the wash. But she had spent the last three weeks sorting out his clothes and helping him put them on when he couldn't move his body. She knew what was dirty and what was clean. Which meant he had taken them and left.

Which meant he had taken them and left.

She ran out of the room as she went straight for the family archives, a place that was like a secondary armoury that held old family weapons of the Arc family. She instantly noticed the wooden doors left ajar as she opened it up and instantly noticed a missing pedestal where the dust had been recently disturbed. She then ran out of the room and started banging on the door next to hers, while also keeping an eye out for any patrolling guards.

"Ren! Ren! Nora! Wake up!" she hissed as the door slowly opened and a half asleep Ren stood before her, with a still sleeping Nora with a small amount of drool was running down her lips.

"Pyrrha?" a groggily sounding Ren said as he stood in the doorway, "It's late, what's going-" "Its Jaune! He's left the fort! He's gone!" she said, as Ren was instantly wide-awake, along with Nora as she instantly heard the words 'Jaune' and 'Gone'.

"What? Are you sure he's gone? He could just be somewhere in the Fortress," he said as the girl shook her head.

"No I already checked, his crutches are still here and some of his clothes are missing from his closet. Not to mention I just checked the archives and one of the family blades are missing! He's gone and taken it!" she whispered as the boy looked suspicious.

"What! Why would he do that!?" Nora nearly yelled if Ren hadn't placed his hands over her mouth.

"I don't know? I just received a message telling me that Jaune is heading north! He is out there and he is about to do something incredibly stupid!" she said as anger laced her voice. "We need to tell his parents, maybe they can help!" she said as she turned to leave only for Nora to grab her arm and shake her head.

"We can't tell his parents, if we did he would be in serious trouble, I mean no pancakes for life trouble! We need to get him back _before_ his parents wake up," she said as Pyrrha looked confused.

"She means that if we got his parents involved it will create a whole other mess," Ren explained.

"But wouldn't it make more sense if we got his parents to help us? They have resources that could help us find him quicker?" Pyrrha asked as Ren shook his head.

"It would, but there is something's we haven't considered. First, we don't know who sent you that message. For all, we know it could be a trap laid out by Cinder's former henchmen out for revenge. Second, if Jaune is headed north and we bring his parents in, we might be dragging his family into something that could end up as a big political incident..." the two girls sent confused looks as he shrugged.

"I spent some time in the library learning about Jaune's family, and from what I can tell they don't have a very good history with Atlas or the nation of Solitas, something having to do with one of Jaune's ancestors during the Great War. So we can't bring them in, we need to do it ourselves and as quietly as possible. But the other thing we have to consider is this..."

"What if he doesn't want to come back?" Pyrrha looked confused.

"What do you mean if he doesn't want to come back?"

Ren sighed as he ran a hand through his hair, "You saw how he was after the meeting, right? The Council basically ignored his warning and blamed everything on that woman, then told him not to do anything about it. To Jaune that felt like a betrayal of everything he sacrificed to win, everything he put himself through to save you, it was like none of it mattered to them. Knowing what he knows, he feels that he needs to do what the council is too afraid to do. Find whoever this 'person' is and stop them," he placed a comforting hand on her shoulder as he looked into her eyes.

"I know Jaune isn't thinking straight and whatever he is doing is reckless considering what his body went through. But if we just dragged him back here, he would just try to run away again no matter what we restrain him with. He is too stubborn after all." He said as Nora nodded with him.

"But if we go and try to talk him out of it, we have a better chance at reasoning with him then forcing him," He said as Pyrrha started arguing before nodding.

"...You're...you're right, Jaune's too stubborn to just let them or us drag him back, not after everything that's happened. We need to go get him and talk him out of it,"

"Or help him with whatever he is doing?" Ren said as Pyrrha looked concerned at this but shook the thoughts away.

"Ok, so we go get Jauney, bring him back to the Keep and pretend like none of this ever happened, right?" Nora said as the two nodded.

"Question is how are we going to get there? We can't just take one of the Bullheads here and none of us can fly by ourselves and he has a good head start. How are we going to catch up to him?" he asked as Pyrrha pulled out her scroll.

"When I received the message it also told me that we need to head to this town here, a place called Riverdale, where we are supposed to meet someone there who can help us," she said as she showed the map to them. "The quickest way would be to head here and take a shuttle, away from Kaer Arc borders and closer to where our contact is," she put away the scroll as Nora had a question.

"Who sent you this message anyway?" Nora asked as Pyrrha only shrugged as she looked at the message.

"I don't know, the message only said...from a friend?" she said as all three of them felt that something else was going on, something that not even they could comprehend.

* * *

Fishing Village Half 'n' Hour later

* * *

Jaune held his chest as he breathed slow and deep breaths. His back against the wall of the boat as his muscles continued to ache in pain. His hood drawn over his head and his cloak wrapped firmly around his body, hoping that no one would recognise him in case someone from Kaer Arc was returning home from a mission.

He had just spent the last five hours escaping the border; he could not afford to be dragged back now. "You ok kid?" a voice asked, "You don't look so good?" he said as the boy nodded.

"I-I am fine, just a little sore, nothing to worry about," he said as the captain looked suspicious before he shook it off and looked at the island ahead of them.

"You seem to be a long way from home, care to share your tale?" the man said as Jaune shook his head.

"Sorry, but I'm not in the mood to talk about myself," he said as the man chuckled.

"You know, you are the second person I've met that doesn't want to talk about themselves, must be a young person thing?" Jaune looked at him perplexed as the man leant on the railing.

"A couple weeks ago I met a strange girl that jumped at every shadow that approached her. She kept mostly to herself until we were attacked by that Sea Dragon and she saved us from it. Her and that Faunus kid, what was his name Son, Sue, San..." he said as Jaune instantly recognised the person he was talking about.

"Sun? Blake?" he mumbled to himself before facing the captain. "These two, did one of them have a bow on her head? And a monkey Faunus that had his shirt open all the time?" he asked as he nodded.

"You know them?" Jaune nodded as he slowly stood up, grunting slightly at his aching muscles.

"Friends of mine, where were you heading and how long ago?" he asked as the man stroked his beard.

"I'd say about several weeks ago, that was when we travelled to Menagerie, that island located south of Anima. The landmass where humanity forced the Faunus population till the Faunus Civil Rights War," Jaune said as the man nodded.

"Thank goodness," he said as the captain leant on the railing and looked out upon the moonlight reflected off the ocean's surface.

"You know I thought I'd just about seen about every horrible thing we can do to each other since the Civil Rights War. But next thing I know some mad woman launches an invasion against a major Kingdom with an army of deceived White Fang and Grimm. All that death, all that destruction, I thought all hope for sure humanity was lost..." the captain said as Jaune lowered his head, his mind wandering back to the battle as the world was drowned out.

The screaming, the fire, the pain and the sinister smirk of Cinder's face still fresh in his mind. He gripped his bicep as he managed to control himself.

"But then..." he turned back to the man as he looked up. "I see this boy, standing up against her and fighting for what was right. If it weren't for him, I don't know what would have happened to Vale," he said as Jaune turned away slightly. "We all owe him a great debt," he said as Jaune shook his head.

"Those two from before, my friends, did they make it to Menagerie?" he had to ask as the man nodded.

"Yeah they did, we docked at the island and then left for a town, couldn't get the name of it, though, like I said she didn't want to talk about herself. You must be really worried about them?" he said as Jaune shrugged his shoulder.

"She and I...did do not hang out as much and I only met the other guy on a few occasions. But yeah, I am worried about them. She was on a team with one of my friends that kind of broke up five months ago and they haven't seen or heard from her since." he said as the Captain cringed at this.

"I am sorry, that must have been hard for your friend?" he said as Jaune nodded.

"Yeah, it was...I just hope they get back together..." he said as he found it ironic that he was doing the exact same thing as Blake. Only he wasn't running away from danger, but running towards it.

The man merely shrugged as he leant near the boy. "So where are you headed? Running away from something?" he asked as Jaune shook his head.

"I'm heading there," he said as the Captain looked at the large island they were about to pass.

"Vytal? You going to see the war memorial there or something?" he asked as Jaune shrugged.

"Something like that..." he said as he turned to the man, "I know this ship is set to reach Anima and it was the only one avaliable for weeks, but is there any chance you are stopping at the island?" he asked as the man shook his head.

"Sorry, but we have a special cargo that needs to reach the Anima continent in two weeks and I can't afford to make a stop there," he said as Jaune looked at the island.

"Is there any way you can get me close enough and I can swim the rest of the way?" instantly the captain shook his head.

"With the way you've been holding your body, I doubt you would even have the strength to hold yourself above water. Sorry lad, but you are going to just have to hold out till we reach Anima and then catch another ship from there," he said as he walked away, leaving the boy to his thoughts.

Jaune shook his head as he looked to the island, "I can't do that," he said as he turned his head to one of the lifeboats. "And I'm really sorry about this..." he said as he made his way to one of the boats, knowing full well what he had to do.

* * *

Riverdale

* * *

Three individuals stepped off the shuttle as the figures were shrouded in brown travellers cloaks and their hoods drawn over their faces. But as they entered one by one they removed their hoods as Pyrrha, Ren and Nora entered the tavern. Like Jaune, they too had managed to sneak out of the Keep, but unlike Jaune, they managed to use some of Pyrrha's tournament money to buy a shuttle ticket one town over.

"Are you sure this is the place?" Ren asked as he looked around the tavern. Large burly men arm wrestling, hunters drinking after a long day of patrolling and the merry laughter that echoed the halls filled the tavern with life.

"That's what it says in the message, we had to go to Riverdale and find the Laughing Hyena Tavern to meet our contact, though I have no idea why we needed to meet here?" Pyrrha said as she observed some of the men drinking to their contents and laughing a merry tune.

"We need to head to the back of the tavern, that's where our contact is supposed to meet us," he said as he and the others nodded as they walked past the patrons.

Pyrrha feeling slightly uncomfortable as they passed all the men ogling at her and Nora. The stares that she was used to being completely different, as they seemed to be gazing at her pretty face. Before she could move any faster, a hand reached out to grab her as she was pulled close to a table with three other men. The stench of booze and sweat radiated from their bodies as she repressed the urge to gag.

"Hey pretty, you don't look like you're from around here are ya?" a man drunkenly said as he held her wrist. "Cause I can show you a _very_ good time," he said as he grinned in his haze.

Pyrrha kept a calm head as she carefully got the man's hand off her wrist. "Thanks but no thanks, we're here to meet a friend actually," she said as she was about to leave until he grabbed her again.

"I can be a friend, a _really_ _good_ _friend_ if you let me?" he said as he had a dark glint in his eyes, one that did not escape Pyrrha or the others notice.

"Please let go of me sir, I don't want to cause a scene," she said as she tried again, but he had a firmer grip on her wrist.

"Then just sit down with us and have a good time, I promise you'll really like it," he said as a dark grin came on his face until Pyrrha shoved him back. The man tumbled into the tables as he spilt his drink all over himself.

He then glared up as he reared his hand back. "Why you little!" he said as Nora and Ren moved for their weapons until a large blade was placed under the man's neck.

"What seems to be the trouble fellas? You wouldn't happen to be bothering these kids now would you?" a voice said as all of them spun around to see a man with dark hair, red eyes and a small cloak on his back.

"Mr Branwen!" Pyrrha said as the man smirked at her.

"Nice to see you too Red, now is this guy bothering you?" he said as he pressed the large blade to his neck causing the man to stand on his toes.

"You think you scare me, huntsman? We've got you outnumbered Four to One," his friends began to stand up and reach for their weapons until the sound of four loud shots reverberated in the tavern and their weapons flew out of their hands.

"I don't think so..." he said smugly as he and the other looked up to see a cloaked figure remove her hood as Ruby smiled and aimed down her sniper.

"So like I said..." he pressed the sword closer to the man's neck, "Are you bothering these kids?" he said as the man looked at him, his men and the sniper girl before he growled and back away.

Qrow smirked as they quickly left the tavern and sheathed his sword back in place; the patrons who had watched immediately went back to their own business, no doubt seeing this type of thing happen on a regular basis.

"So you kids are already starting trouble I see, Ozpin really knew how to pick them huh?" he said while drawing his flask from his pocket.

"Hey! No outside alcohol!" the bartender said as Qrow grumpily placed it back.

"He allows kids with guns to shoot up the place, but not outside alcohol? Crazy bastard," Qrow muttered as a red blur shot past him and came running towards the others.

"GUYS!" a sudden red blur said as Ruby Rose immediately tacked Pyrrha as she hugged the older girl. "I missed you all so much! I can't believe you're actually here! It's so~ good to see you again!" she said as Pyrrha smiled and hugged the smaller girl back.

"It's good to see you too Ruby, you changed your outfit I see?" she said as Ruby nodded and showed off her new look.

She was now sporting a white high-neck décolletage blouse with an overbust corset, while still retaining the black and red skirt from her old clothing. A black belt bordered in red holds the magnetic clip for Crescent Rose and its ammunition. She also has brown straps on her blouse with a small brown backpack. She was also wearing thigh-high stockings reaching to a few inches below the hem of her skirt, decorated with an image of a long-stemmed rose. Her red-soled black boots contain four straps and buckles apiece. Her cloak has a singular clip on the right shoulder in the shape of her emblem, replacing the cross-shaped clips from her default attire. Both the cloak and the stockings show tears from hard wear, somewhat similar to her uncle Qrow's cape.

"I sure did, don't I look awesome!?" she said as Nora smiled and pumped her fist.

"Totally awesome! We should get new clothes too, huh Renny?" she said as the boy only nodded but then turned his attention back here.

"I assume we are here to meet you then?" she said as Ruby nodded.

"Sure am, but where's Jaune? I thought he would be with you?" she asked Pyrrha suddenly scrunched her face into a frown and glared away from the others.

"Jaune went off on his own, and we're trying to track him down," Ren said as Ruby gasped at this.

"What! Jaune ran away! Why would he do that!?" she shrieked as Qrow raised his eyebrow at this. "Isn't he still recovering?" she asked as Pyrrha nodded.

"He is, but after his meeting with the Council he started acting differently, closed off from the rest of us especially after I told him we should leave it to the council. But now he's run off on his own on some crazy suicide mission to who know where?" she said as Qrow noticed some of the patrons noticing them as he gestured to a small table in the back.

The five of them then sat around the table as Qrow laced his fingers together. "Ok, so what happened during the Council meeting?" he asked as Pyrrha looked down slightly.

"During the meeting, Jaune told the council that Cinder was not alone, that she had more allies that would finish her mission and there is someone controlling the Grimm. But that's impossible, right? There can't really be someone controlling them..." his silence, however, spoke volumes to the children.

"Right?"

"Uncle Qrow?" Ruby asked, unnerved by her uncle's unusual silence.

"...Ozpin had many secrets, some of them he even kept from me. But he did tell me once that it was possible that the Grimm are being directed, that there is someone pulling the strings behind the shrouded veil, I can't really say for sure," the way he spoke made it hard to tell if he was telling the truth or lying. "But the kid is right about one thing, Cinder was not alone..." he reached into his pocket as he pulled out a burnt up scroll, with a large hole in the centre. Eyes widened as they looked at the burnt up hollow mark on its surface

"That's..." Ren said as Qrow nodded.

"The scroll that was recovered from the tower, we've confirmed that it belonged to Cinder and there are some strange messages on it. Orders, dossiers broadcasting and hacking software that allowed her easy access to any system." He said as he looked at the scroll. "Whoever she was working for has some powerful connections, more than mine, and that is saying something,"

"How did you get your hands on this?" Pyrrha said as she glared at the scroll, her anger for the previous owner evident in her voice.

"Jimmy gave it to me after his team analysed it hoping my contacts could pick up a trail. I may not have always agreed with the Generals methods, but as you get older you learn to put personal feelings aside for the greater good, even if it's from a tin can soldier," he said as he then sighed and shook his head.

"In any case, it did confirm that Cinder had allies, the White Fang being one of them when we traced several messages to different regions in Remnant. Old hideouts and such, but we were only able to trace them after we got the tower back up three months ago and by then the leads went cold," he said as placed the scroll back in his pocket.

"Whoever her allies are they've covered their tracks well, not even a single trace with all of my contacts...it's clear they don't want to be found," he said as he glances off to the side of the room before turning back.

"But yesterday Ruby received a message about tracking down one of Cinder's old contacts, someone in Mistral that helped her sneak into Haven Academy. We don't have a name, but the alias of someone who could help that raised some suspicion with me. A legendary forger and information broker in the underworld called 'Nightshade'. I don't know how this person managed to find this sort of information, but a leads a lead and that's all we have at this point," he said as eyes widened as Ruby nodded.

"The message I received told me to meet some 'familiar faces' at this place, and after talking with Uncle Qrow he managed to use his teacher status at Signal to borrow a Bullhead to get me here," Ruby said as the man shrugged his shoulders.

"It comes in handy from time to time," he said as leant back into his seat.

"But why did you guys have to send such a cryptic message? Why not just tell us what you know?" she said, as the others looked confused.

"What? But we didn't send the message? We thought it was you?" Qrow leant forward in as he heard this.

"No it wasn't us, I've been training with Uncle Qrow for the last few months. The last time I saw you all was a few weeks after Jaune woke up...but if you didn't send it..."

Silence fell between them as the laughter and jostle of the tavern was deaf to them. Each of them then looked around the tavern, looking for anything out of the ordinary that would suggest something strange. But everywhere they looked, none of them could see anything suspicious. Suddenly Ruby's scroll pinged as she jumped slightly and opened the scroll.

Her eyes scanned the words before they widened with shock and she stood up.

"I know where Jaune is heading!" she said as the others stood up as well, "We need to hurry if we want to make it in time!" she said as they quickly left the tavern, while Qrow lingered slightly behind as he looked around the tavern.

"What is going on here?" Qrow said to himself as he narrowed his eyes to the people around him before running to the Bullhead.

* * *

Near Vytal Island

* * *

Jaune grunted as he tried to untie one of the ropes to the lifeboats, his fingers trembling and stumbling, as he tried to untie the sailor's hitch. "Damn it, why do they have to make these knots so tight?" he hissed to himself as struggled with rope. He looked over the edge as the island was just coming into view; the large green forest and the shoreline were just a short boat ride away and were just out of his reach.

Unknown to him a dark shadow slithered under the surface of the water, before disappearing into the depths.

"I need to hurry, we'll be passing real soon and then I'll have missed my chance," Jaune said as he struggled with the knots. "Need to hurry, before anyone-"

"Hey!" a voice called out as Jaune quickly turned to see a young woman walking towards him, a pistol in one hand as she aimed it at him. "What are you doing with that lifeboat?" she said as Jaune raised his hands.

"Uh...I can explain?" Jaune said as the shadow drew closer to the unsuspecting ship.

"Save it! I'm taking you to the brig, don't try anything funny," she said as Jaune cursed to himself.

But before the first mate could do anything, something slammed into the boat as both of them were thrown off their feet. The whole ship rocked from side to side as the shadow moved quickly beneath the waters.

"What the hell was that!?" Jaune said as the woman went over to the railing and cursed at the dark figure moving in the water, large red eyes glowed from the deep as it crashed again into the ship.

"Damn it! Not again! Grimm! We've got a Grimm! Starboard side!" she yelled out while she ran over to the bridge, as a loud siren blared over the intercom.

"Everyone man your stations! We got no hunters to help us this time, but we are not going to let that stop us!" the captain called out as he stood on the helm of the ship.

"Prep the cannon and keep your eyes out for that beast! We still don't know what it is yet!" He commanded as the deck hands ran over to the starboard side, rifles in their hands and scanned the water for the beast that lurked in its depths.

For a moment there was nothing but silence, as steady hands held their weapons at the ready. Then bursting from the depths of the water a large serpent-like creature emerged.

The creature was similar to a large snake but had glowing red dots running along the side of its head with sleek black skin covering its body. A large bone-like mask covered its face as smaller bone-like plates run the length of its body.

"By the gods...it's a _Midgard Serpent_!" the commander yelled as the beast roared and shot a stream of water from its mouth. The crew barely had to move out of the way as the jet of water shot between them and carved a large cut into the deck of the ship. The beast roared as it prepared to attack, only for it to screech as the crew began to fire on it and retreat into the water.

"What the hell is a Midgard Serpent!?" Jaune asked as the first mate loaded another clip into her rifle.

"A _Midgard Serpent_ otherwise known as a 'World Serpent' are a similar species to King Taijitu's but mostly live under water. They can shot pressurised water from their mouths that can destroy a ship," she said as the beast began to circle around the ship and then emerged from the deep.

"Get that cannon ready!" she yelled as some of the deck hands were preparing the cannon that emerged from the bow of the ship. "We need time! Keep that thing off us!" she yelled as she then grabbed Jaune's hoodie. "I'll deal with you later!" she said as she threw him back and ran to the side of the ship.

Jaune looked between the Grimm and the lifeboat as he saw the opportunity to take the boat and leave while everyone was distracted. But then he looked at the large Grimm as flashes of the battle surged in his mind. The Grimm dragon that towered over his form as Cinder stood before him with glowing eyes and a confident smirk that sent a feeling of rage down his spine. He knew that this was his best chance to get to the island and he knew it his best chance to get the Intel he needed.

Even if it meant the death of everyone aboard this ship...He clenched his fist, as he knew what he had to do.

The crew continued to shoot at the beast as the shots barely damaged the monsters thick hide. "Damn it! We aren't making a dent!" she yelled as a stream of water shot from the beast mouth a sliced a large section out of the ship.

"Keep it at bay! We almost have the cannon ready!" the captain yelled as he monitored from his place at the helm. Suddenly the beast lunged as it smashed into the side of the ship, throwing everyone off their feet as it took the opportunity to barrage the cannon with a powerful jet of water, knocking it slightly off its axis and causing it to spark.

"Damn it! We need to fix the Cannon!" the captain yelled as the main cannon was destroyed.

"Engineers, report to the-" Eyes widened in terror as the beast's tail emerged from the water and smashed into the bow of the ship, causing the boat to rock violently and threw everyone to the floor. The first mate groaned as she managed to get her bearings straight before her eyes widened in fear as the Serpent's jaws descended upon her.

"SKYE!" the captain yelled as time seemed to slow and the glistening of its white fangs were intensified for the young woman as she knew this was her end.

Suddenly several shots reverberated off the creatures face as the Serpent hissed and glared over at the shrouded figure, holding one of the rifles in his hands. "Go!" he yelled as Skye looked stunned for a moment, "Get out of the way!" Jaune yelled as he shot more at the beast.

The Serpent hissed as a stream of pressurised water blasted towards, forcing him to roll out of the way as another section of the starboard deck was destroyed. Jaune aimed again as he pulled the trigger, only for the rifle to jam as his heart stopped.

"Really!? Now! Son of a-!" was all he managed to say as he threw the rifle away and drew the sword from his back. "Come on! Come get me!" Jaune yelled as the snake hissed and shot several less powered water jets at him.

Jaune managed to avoid each and every one of them as he charged towards the beast. But as he ran his muscle burned like fire and every breath he took was like a million knives stabbing him in the chest, it was unbearable and agonising. But he pushed down the pain and focused on the beast before him as he ran towards the beast.

The Serpent hissed and lunged at the boy, only for him to roll out of the way and stab his sword into the soft side beast holding his grip on the sword as he was dragged with the submerging Grimm into the water.

' _Crap! I did not think this through!'_

Is what Jaune would have wanted to say if he wasn't holding on for dear life, the water rushing against him as the serpent swam and swirled beneath the water hoping to dislodge the young hooded man attached to it. The beast thrashed, rolled and twirled beneath the water as Jaune held his grip fast, either refusing to let go or was too afraid to let go.

Either way, he was going on a ride he would never forget.

"Why!" he went under the water, "Does!" he went under again, "The!" under again. "Universe!" under a fourth time. "HATE ME!" he managed to scream out as he went under for a fifth.

"...He's insane..." Skye said as she stared in utter bewilderment at the sight of the Grimm that was now focused on shaking the hooded boy off its back.

"Skye! Skye! Are you alright!" she heard a voice cry out as the captain came running towards her.

"Captain?" she said as the man kneeled next to her, while a team of engineers ran over to the cannon.

"Are you alright?" he asked as she nodded.

"I'm fine, but that boy other there is in trouble!" she said as the captain turned to see the Serpent rise out of the water with the boy still holding on to the sword.

"Hey, that's the kid from before..." the old man muttered as the serpent twisted its body into the air as Jaune held on for his life. The wind then blew off his hood as the old man's eyes widened slightly.

 _'That boy...could he be...'_

 _'Shit! This fucking hurts! Any more of this and my body will give out!'_ Jaune yelled in his head as the serpent continued to shake and roll its body in and out of the water.

He grasped the handle of the blade trying to plunge it deeper into the Grimm, but because if the speed it was moving and the constant amount of times it went under the water, he was barely able to push it in any further. His vision began to blur and his gripped slackened as the beast resurfaced and flung itself one last time as he went flying in the air.

' _Shit! My body! I can't...I can't..._ ' he looked down to see the Grimm seem to smirk at him as he began to free-fall back to earth. An open jaw prepared to greet him as for a moment all was lost.

But before he fell into its mouth, for a brief moment his eyes flashed yellow as the Grimm snapped its mouth closed.

Those on the ship could only stare in horror at the death of the young man. The first mate feeling a hint of guilt while the others felt dread at the knowledge that they too would soon meet their doom. The only one that didn't react was the captain as he stared at the Grimm that hissed in satisfaction and turned its attention back to them, ready to finish what it started.

Then suddenly something caused the head to rattle as the Serpent roared in sudden pain. The crew and the captain looked back in confusion as the snake began to hiss and roar in pain, its body thrashing wildly in the water as sections along its body bulged slightly and slowly moved its way up its throat.

"W-what the hell is that!?" Skye said as the Captain could only stare at the strange sight. The beast suddenly held its mouth shut as if it was trying to keep something from crawling out. But then the mouth slowly began to open up, as the entire crew of the ship was stunned at what they saw.

Standing in the mouth of the Midgard Serpent was a figure clad in bright white armour with eyes that glowed like electric lightning as he glared at the snake. The crew and the captain could only stare in shock as the Captain instantly recognised the armour.

"That boy...he's..."

The Knights eyes flashed a yellow glare as it jumped out of the beast's mouth and soared high into the air. It floated for a brief moment before gravity took over and the knight was sent barreling towards the snake. But unlike last time, the knight reared back its fist and slammed it into the monster's mouth, sending a huge shockwave that blasted across the water and slammed into the ship.

The Serpent slammed down into the water, just as the knight landed on the beast's body and ran over to the sword still lodged in its scales. The knight held the sword in a reverse grip as it then ran the length of its body while carving the sword deep into the monster's flesh. But the beast managed to shake its stupor off and roll to shake the knight off its back. But the knight quickly somersaulted in the air and managed to land back on the boat as he stabbed his sword into the deck and drag himself to a stop.

The Knight glared up as it pulled the sword out and held it back in a reverse grip before he sprinted off the deck and sailed towards the Grimm. The Grimm shot several high-pressure attacks at the knight, only for the knight to ignore the attacks as its armour glowed white and the attacks to be nullified by the armour. The snake then roared as it prepared to fight again, just as the Knight pulled back the sword and slashed as the beast lunged with its fangs.

Two things happened in that instant.

The first was the sword that the knight used shattered into a million pieces before the knight sailed the rest of the way to Vytal Island and slam into the beach. The second was for the Serpent to no longer feel anything below its neck before its head then fell into the ocean. A geyser of blood then shot out its body and then followed its head into the water as the impact sent a large wave across the ocean.

For a moment everyone on the ship was stunned as they looked at the decaying form of the Serpent and the dust trail that drifted at beaches of Vytal Island. None could find the words to express what they had just witnessed.

"W-what the hell? W-was that the?" the Captain nodded as he pulled out his spyglass and looked towards the beach in time to see the dust settle and the knight to slowly crawl out from its hole.

While on the beach Jaune had just managed to pull himself from the crater he made, as his armour shattered like glass. He instantly held his ribs as he fell to his knees and coughed up blood. "Argh! Shit that hurts!" he said as he nursed his ribs, he slowly breathed in small breaths as he felt his aura heal his body.

"What the hell was that anyway? Was that my semblance? The one I used against Cinder? Why couldn't I control it like last time?" he looked down at his hand as he noticed the white aura had small traces of yellow aura mixed in it. "It feels...different, like back when I was...when I was...where was I then?" he tried to remember what he had felt in the afterlife but once again found the memories to be missing. He slowly stood up as he looked around at the beach and then at the ship in the distance.

"Well at least they're safe and I made it to the island, so it's a win-win I guess," he said as he then looked down at the shattered remains of the sword in his hand as he sighed.

"Looks like I'll be going without a weapon for a while, whatever is at these coordinates better not require me to use a weapon," he said as he still sheathed the broken blade to his back.

From the ship the captain peered through his hourglass as the boy turned to looked at them one last time before walking towards the forest covering the island. "Sir, what are your orders? He looks like he was hurt in that fight and he did just save our lives, shouldn't we help him?" his first mate Skye asked as the captain shook his head.

"No, I have a feeling that boy is going to be fine on his own and our first priority should be repairing this ship and getting the cannon operational again. We are not out of danger yet and Grimm usually tries to avenge their loss brethren..." he then smiled as he turned to his first mate.

"Besides...we just got saved by a legend. Whatever he is doing out here must be for a good reason, wouldn't you agree?" he asked as the girl looked conflicted but nodded.

"I suppose..." she looked back to the beach as she watched the young man disappear into the forest. "Still, it's hard to believe that of all times, we were saved by him of all people?" she said as the man nodded.

"It is, to be saved by 'The Remnant Knight' himself... quite the fairy tale isn't it?" he chuckled as he turned back to the crew, sending his silent thanks to the boy that saved them.

* * *

Two Hours Later –Vytal Island

* * *

Jaune stumbled across the forest as he held onto the bark of a tree, trying to recapture the breath he just lost. "Shit! Argh! Looks my aura is still healing me...I need to be careful..." he said as he shook off his haze.

He looked down at his hand as he clenched it into a fist a couple of times, "So I finally have a semblance and I still can't control it? The universe must really~ love screwing with me huh?" He brushed away that train of thought as he continued to move on through the forest.

Jaune looked up as he saw that the sky was getting a little brighter, which meant that the sun would be rising fairly soon. "I need to hurry, whoever sent me this message told me I had to be there before sunrise or I'll 'miss my chance', whatever that means?" he pushed aside a branch as he continued to march through the forest.

"Why am I even trusting this person anyway? Why is he or she sending me all the way out here instead of just telling me what they know? I mean, what am I supposed to be looking for out here!?"

No sooner did he say that he pushed aside another branch and was almost blinded by a flash of light. His instincts instantly forced him to take cover as he hid behind the bush as the light slowly passed him. He slowly peeked his head out as he came upon the sight of a large faculty, the symbol of Vale and Atlas stamped onto the side of the building as spotlights and soldiers patrolled the facility surrounded by barbwire fences.

A spotlight came close to spotting him as he once again ducked under the bush while the light passed. A soft ping caused him to fumble slightly as he reached into his pocket, grabbed his scroll and quickly switched it to silent mode. Looking around to see if he had been spotted, he sighed in relief as he quietly opened the screen and read the message that he received.

 _-The first step to what you seek lies within. Make your way inside and all will be revealed- Sent by 'a friend'_

Jaune looked cautiously between the scroll and the base before he nodded and closed the scroll. He breathed in a small calming breath as he turned around and faced the joint facility.

"Well, guess I have no choice then..." he said as he slowly stood up and faced the task at hand.

"Let's Break into a Base?"

* * *

 **And scene, well here is the long awaited Chapter VI of The Remnant Knight. Sorry for the long wait again, I was planning on posting this on New Years, by things came up and I only just finished writing it now.**

 **So happy New Year 2017! Hope it's not as shitty as 2016! ...that year was an ass...  
**

 **But anyway, who is this mysterious person that is sending all these cryptic messages, and what does it have to do with Cinder and her master's plan? How much does this person know? And how will it affect Jaune and his friends?**

 **Will Jaune successfully sneak his way into the facility and find what he is searching for? Will Pyrrha and the others make it in time to stop him, or will they join him on his noble quest?**

 **...50/50 say's yes...**

 **So find out next time on The Remnant Knight Chapter VII: Let's Break into a Base!**

 **Ps if anyone wants to write a Reaction to my fan fictions, let me know and I will be more than happy to let you use them.**

 **Pss send ideas to me about Omakes and yours may star in the next chapter of any story! Thanks to everyone, and have a happy new year.**

 **Sincerely Masseffect-TxS**


	7. Chapter VII Let's Break into a Base!

RWBY: The Remnant Knight

There are many paths in life, some that are set in stone and some that are in a state of flux...then there are the ones that defy the course of fate. This is one such path where destiny is defied and the path of a Knight is forged in blood, steel and magic. This is the Rise of the Remnant Knight.

* * *

Chapter VII: Let's Break into a Base!

* * *

In the centre of Vytal Island, shrouded by the tallest trees of the forest stood a secret facility created after created by the Atlas research division during the Great War. Its primary goal at the time was to research and develop new weapons, ships, armours and technologies to combat the enemy nations of Vale and Vacuo.

After the war ended all facilities such as these were supposed to be shut down, in accordance with the peace treaty signed by all four nations. But secretly the facility was still operational to this day, run by the Atlas's Black-Ops division, which was spearheaded and commanded by General Cobalt. The facility prided itself in the advancement of technology and human innovation.

What Jaune was meant to find here was a mystery. The bigger mystery was how was he going to get in?

Tall barbed wire fences surrounded the facility with several or so guards posted at each interval. The facility also had four powerful spotlights, each one covering a certain degree of the forest. He wagered though if he timed it right, he could slip past the lights and just make it over the fence. The next problem would be the guards patrolling the area.

But that problem seemed to fix itself.

Two such guards were stationed just on patrol as they were both dressed in the standard Atlesian armour. Except one had a maroon stripe, while the other had and orange strip. The two guards stood in attention as they both looked out at the large section of forest that surrounded them as a comfortable silence drifted between them.

"...Hey..."

"...Yeah?"

"Do you ever wonder why we're here?"

"It's one of life's great mysteries, isn't it? Why are we here? I mean, are we the product of some cosmic coincidence, or is there really a God watching everything? You know, with a plan for us and stuff? I don't know, man, but it keeps me up at night"

"...What? I mean why are we out here, on patrol when it's not our shift? What's all this God stuff about?"

"Oh, Uh. Nothing...never mind" he said as the other soldier looked at him.

"You want to talk about it?"

"No"

"Are you sure?"

"Yes"

"Because it seemed really deep if ask me?"

"I said I don't want to talk about!"

"Hey don't yell at me asshole! I was trying to help!"

"Well I didn't ask you to, so how about you butt out!"

While those two were bickering, they didn't notice a shadow quickly slip by them as he threw his brown cloak over the barbed wire and climbed over the fence, using the cloak to avoid the sharp barbs and landed silently behind the fence. He quickly managed to pull the cloak down as he hid it amongst the grass and slip his way to one of the entrances to the base. But when he got to the security door, there was an ID lock on the door, meaning he would need a certain ID card to get in.

"Damn it! I need to find another way!" he hissed before suddenly the lock flashed green and the door opened. "...Okay, that was weird," but shook it off as he quickly entered the facility.

Compared to the outside, the inside of the facility was pristine white with blue veins of light running along the edges of the walls. He quietly sneaked across the hallways as he tried to figure out where the heck he was supposed to go.

"Where the heck am I supposed to go?" Jaune hissed as he hid behind the corner of the wall. "I mean seriously, where the hell am I suppose to go!? Who sends me here and doesn't even tell me what I am supposed to be looking for! I know it's a bit late to say this, but this is starting to sound real-" Suddenly some of the blue lights turned green and went straight down the hall before turning left.

"...Okay, this is starting to get _really_ weird!" he said as he followed the strange green light that turned on when he was heading in the right direction. But the right direction to what was still eluded him. Another door soon opened, as he appeared to be over a catwalk of some kind, where the room was black and similar to that of a hangar. He quietly crept along the catwalk, hoping that no one would see or hear him.

"Doctor, how goes the project?" a voice suddenly said as Jaune turned his head to see several individuals standing in the hangar. One of them was a man with grey hair, glasses and dressed in a lab coat. The other one was revealed to be General Cobalt of the Atlesian Black-Ops Division.

Jaune had barely been able to see the man when he communicated with him and the Remnant Council, but now he had a clear image as the man was dressed in the standard Atlesian Generals Uniform, with blue streams and the general stars on his chest. His appearance was that of a young man with dark blue hair swept back and spiked at the back of his head while his eyes were a shade of dark blue with small bits of metal grey in the iris.

"The progress is slow General Cobalt, but stable at the moment. Retrofitting the engine with the designs from the android has been difficult these past five months, but we have made progress nonetheless. It is fortunate we were able to recover the android's body from the arena before the main military could," The Doctor said as the man next to him

"The Arena? Does he mean Penny?" Jaune whispered to himself as he listened in on the conversation.

"Indeed, had the invasion actually succeeded there is no telling how events would have played out. Another thing we must thank Mister Arc for," he said as Jaune gripped the handrail. "Though I must say Professor Polendina and General Ironwood were geniuses in creating a machine capable of housing and generating a soul, it truly was a remarkable piece of machinery," the doctor said as Cobalt merely chuckled.

"Yes, while Professor Polendina and Ironwood were clever in developing a synthetic with a soul. They are limited in imagination by simply creating a ghost within a machine. The Professor even treated it as if it were his own daughter, the humour in that," he said as he shook his head.

"I, on the other hand, see other potentials with the technology. If one man could create a machine that could generate aura to power one robot," he said as he raised his arms. "Then why not an entire ship?" he said as he looked up as the lights flooded the hangar as Jaune shielded his eyes.

When they adjusted they widened in awe at the sight that beheld him.

Sitting in the hangar was a large vessel, smaller than a frigate, but larger than a standard airship. The airship was sleek in design and was shaped similar to that of a Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird. It had four rectangular like thrusters in the back, two cannons under the front and what looked like swivel turrets on the top and bottom sections of the craft.

"The Phantom is the cutting edge of Atlesian technology, the smallest but fastest stealth ship we have ever created. While lightly armoured than our regular airships, the stealth system will more than makes up for its defences. It is the perfect stealth ship for the Atlesian navy," Cobalt said as he primed with pride.

"Indeed it is sir, unfortunately, the ships old dust powered engine could not sustain both the stealth tech or the weapons that the same time. The systems would shut down before it could even get into combat," Doctor Armstrong said as Cobalt nodded.

"Yes, but with the android's body in our possession we should be able to bypass that particular problem, correct?" the other man shook his head as he pressed a few keys on his data pad.

"Not quite sir, as you know Professor Polendina keeps most of his research to himself and I've only been able to go off the remains that were left behind after the invasion. The process he used to create a soul is still beyond my understanding and attempts to recreate the process has been...problematic. At the moment the Aura Engine is nothing more than an oversized version of the androids core, using the same designs as a basis," he said as Cobalt raised an eyebrow.

"What about adding existing aura? Could the ship not be jump started with a steady supply of aura?" he asked as once again the man shook his head.

"No, the aura required to jump start this ship would need to be massive in scope and we've already tried that method with some of the men. But none of our soldiers can supply the necessary aura required to start the machine and multiple aura signatures proved to be too chaotic, as the machine could not distinguish one aura type from another and shuts down. It needs a singular aura source and a large one at that. Otherwise, the machine will reject it, plain and simple," the man said as Cobalt only sighed.

"Very well, continue your research and update me on any progress you make. I have to return to Vale immediately to co-ordinate with the Vale and Arc forces. Until we meet again old friend," he said as the man nodded. Then soldiers appeared to be dressed in Atlesian armour but were painted jet black, as opposed to the white and had more equipment attached t the chest, arms and legs with dark green visors in their helmets that covered their entire faces.

"Take me to my ship," the man commanded as one of the soldiers nodded and then escorted him out of the room.

Jaune waited until the coast was clear before he continued along the catwalk to the other side of the hangar and left through the door. Once on the other side, he slammed his fist into the metal, unintentionally drawing on his aura as he created a dent on the wall.

"Those bastards! Treating her like she was just a machine! Damn it!" he hissed as he breathed in slow calming breaths "Stay calm, there is nothing you can do now," he said as the guiding lights activated again.

"Alright, let's see where this trail goes?" He followed them on, trying to forget all the things he had heard the general say about his friend. But he knew right now that he shouldn't let his emotions get the better of him, not when he was this deep inside the facility.

The more he ventured into the facility, the more he began to wonder about the identity of the person that was able to direct him. How was this person able to direct him inside a secure Atlas Facility? What is his or her end game? And after he finds what he is looking for, will this person help him escape or leave him with the bag and smoking barrel? Either way, he was too deep to back out now so he might as well just keep on going...

If Yang were here, she would have made a pun about that.

The lights then stopped at a large metal door as once again another ID pad flashed green before slowly swinging open. The room was pitch-black as he cautiously moved inside, the doors closed shut and he was bathed in darkness.

Then the lights came back on and he stifled to hold in a scream.

There on a cold metal slab were the torn remains of the girl that his partner was deceived into destroying.

Penny Polendina. Cinders first victim in the Invasion if Beacon.

When he finally had the courage to step forward he noticed that most of her body had been dismantled, the remaining section of her torso was opened wider to reveal a hollow casing inside. Her bow was taken away, along with what remained of her ruined clothing as her orange hair splayed over the slab while her lifeless synthetic eyes stared up at the ceiling.

He grunted in despair as he looked away from the lifeless doll and shook his head in disgust at what they had done. He was glad that Ruby wasn't here to see this, she would probably scream. He then grabbed a blanket from the end of the slab and covered the rest of her body before he reached over and placed his hand over her face closing her eyes.

"I'm sorry Penny...Ruby said you were a good person, I just wish I could have known you better, we might have been friends..." he rested his hand on the table and stared at her face. "I promise I will find the mastermind behind Vale, and I will stop them...you have my word," His scroll vibrated as he paused to look at her still form before he opened his scroll and saw a new message.

 _-Look on the table, there should be an object-_

Confused he looked around until he noticed a strange looking object on the table. It was round, metallic and seemed to have green lines around its form. Small bits of wire and copper hung from it as it rested on a small glass pedestal. His scroll vibrated again as a new message appeared.

 _-Take it-_

Now even more confused than before he reached over and picked up the strange orb. The orb seemed almost warm to the touch, as he swore he could almost feel it pulse beneath his fingertips as he looked over the strange orb.

"Is this it? Is this what I came here for?" he asked as he looked over the orb and then back at Penny's body.

"Is this...Penny's heart?"

Suddenly loud sirens blared across the base as the room was bathed in flashing red lights.

" _Alert! Alert! There is an intruder in the base! I repeat an intruder in the base! All troopers secure the facility!"_

A voice yelled over the intercom as Jaune slightly panicked at the alarm. "Shit! Did I set something off!? Shit! Shit! Shit! What do I do!?" he ran to the door and looked out the window to see shadows coming around the corner. Once again his scroll hummed and he quickly read the message.

 _-Hide-_

Jaune would have remarked at that if he didn't agree with it. He looked around as he tire dot find something to hide in. Yet the room had no large cabinets, no air ducts large enough to fit in and no broom closet to hide in. The only thing that was remotely possible was a...

"...Oh, there is no way they are going to fall for that..."

Troopers came marching down the hallway as they were immediately ready for action. This team's priority, however, was to secure any research labs that could be compromised by the enemy. The team then split off as two men separated and stood at the door to the lab where Penny's body was located. The two men stood at the door, while one of them grabbed his ID card and swiped it at the door. The door then opened as both men pointed their rifles...

Into a completely deserted room

Both men's flashlights scanned over the entirety of the room, from the ceiling to the walls to even the cardboard box in the corner of the room. One of the soldiers raised his wrist as he spoke into the gauntlet.

"Sir the Android is secure, no sign of the intruder in here,"

 _-"And it's core? Is the core still there?"-_ Doctor Johnson's voice said over the communicator, as the man looked at the table.

"Negative sir, the core is gone," the man said as Johnson growled on the other end.

 _-"Damn it! Find that core! The intruder can't have gotten too far!"-_ he said as the man nodded.

"Men fan out and find the intruder, Red Team take the east section, Blue Team take the west section move it!" the captain said as they began to fan out.

"Aw man! I thought this was going to be an easy assignment!" one of the aqua striped soldiers said.

"Oh quit being a bitch, Tucker! We got work to do!" a blue striped soldier said with a sniper rifle on his back.

"Hey don't be a dick Church, I was just saying what everyone was thinking!" he said as Church shook his head.

"Whatever, and Caboose for the last time stop pointing your rifle at me! I am afraid you're going to - !" a gunshot went off "Shit!" he said as a dark blue striped soldier pointed to the aqua.

"Tucker did it"

"God damn it Caboose!"

When the coast was finally clear the cardboard box suddenly began to move as Jaune peeked curiously out of his hiding place. "Huh, what do you know? A cardboard box can be a good hiding place. I guess I owe Ruby an apology?" he said as he slowly emerged out of the box and looked both ways down the hall before turning in the direction opposite of the soldiers.

"Ok, I got the thing, now what do I do with the thing? And how is this suppose to help me track down Cinder's allies?" he said as he held Penny's core in his hands. Suddenly he heard more footsteps, as a single shadow was just about to turn around the next corner, he ducked into an adjacent hallway as several more troopers past him.

"I can't keep sneaking around like this, I need a disguise..." he quickly rushed into a broom closet as a single soldier was just passing by. The soldier was patrolling by himself when suddenly a small whistle caught his attention as he turned curiously to the noise and ventured closer to the sound...

Only to be hit in the back of the head with a pipe as the soldier went down like a sack of potatoes.

The soldier was then dragged into the closet as the sound of ruffling could be heard inside. When it was finished Jaune came out dressed like the soldier, though he had to struggle to put it on, as his body was still not fully healed, especially after going against that Midgard Serpent.

"But this should fool them for a while, sorry about this uh...no hard feelings?" he said to the unconscious soldier. He closed the broom closet and he placed the helmet on his head and carried the rifle, with a little difficulty as he then ran down the hallway, occasionally passing by a few soldiers that didn't spare him a second glance.

"Ok so far so good, I just need to turn down this corner and-"

" _Alert! Alert! There are intruders attacking the base! I repeat! Intruders attacking the base! All troops head to the main courtyard!"_

Again the sirens blared even louder as all the troopers began marching towards the courtyard. However, Jaune managed to avoid them as he hid around the corner.

"What the heck? Who's attacking the base?" he asked, as he was about to turn around when suddenly a fist slammed into his face and stars briefly blinded his vision, causing his helmet to fly off his head.

"I got one!" an eerily familiar voice said as Jaune's head still spun after that hit.

"Um...is'nt that Jaune?" another voice said as he instantly recognised the male voice.

"...Oops?" the bubbly voice said as instantly a shade of red was standing over his form as his vision began to clear.

"JAUNE!" he definitely recognised that voice. "Jaune! Jaune! Are you all right! Jaune!" the worried voice said as his vision cleared to see his partner's worried face.

"P-Pyrrha? Is that you?" he asked as she nodded.

"Yes, it's me! Are you all right? Is anything broken? How's your face?" she asked again as he nodded letting her know he was ok. "Good, good..." she said as it got eerily quiet.

"WHAT IN THE HELL WERE YOU EVEN THINKING!?" she suddenly yelled as she grabbed him by the vest of the armour and shook him back and forth.

"SNEAKING AWAY IN THE DEAD OF NIGHT! TRAVELING HALF WAY ACROSS REMNANT BY YOURSELF AND SNEAKING INTO A SECRET ATLAS FACILITY! WHILE YOU'RE STILL RECOVERING! WHAT IF A BANDIT ATTACKED YOU!? IT'S A MIRACLE YOU DIDN'T KEEL OVER HOURS AGO! **ARE YOU TRYING TO GIVE ME A HEART ATTACK!?"** From the corner of his eyes, despite the shaking, he could see Ren and Nora as they huddled in fear of the rampaging girl.

"I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I A-A-A-A-M-M-M-M-M S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-O-O-O-O-O-O-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-RY-Y-Y-Y-Y-Y-Y-Y-!" Jaune tried to say as his head was still spinning.

" **NOT GOOD ENOUGH!"** she said as she continued to shake the boy. Luckily Ren managed to calm her down as she unceremoniously dropped him on the floor, a stern cross still on her face as she glared at the boy.

"What are you guys even doing!? How did you find me?" he asked as Ren walked over as Pyrrha had turned away from him.

"Pyrrha received a message telling us that you snuck out of the Keep, then after meeting Ruby we received another message telling us you were heading this way. Ruby's uncle got us here quicker using the Bullhead he borrowed from Signal Academy. It's parked just outside the perimeter," he said as Jaune blinked slightly.

"Ruby? She's here as well?" he said as Nora nodded.

"Yep! Her uncle is causing a distraction outside while we went in to find you. I wanted to help too, but they said my plan would be 'too dangerous and might cause permanent injury' or something like that?" she said as the other three just stared at her.

"...Anyway, we need to get out of here. Ruby's uncle said he can hold them off long enough for us to escape, and Ruby's dashing through the whole facility looking for you, and it's only a matter of time before they find us" Ren said as he pointed to the exit.

"GUYS!" the all turned far down the hall to see Ruby speeding towards them as Atlas troopers were charging right behind her. "WE'VE GOT TO GO NOW!" she said as she fired some concussion rounds at the soldiers.

Pyrrha nodded as she grabbed Jaune's wrist. "Come on Jaune we're leaving!" she said as she tried to pull him away, only for him to pull back as he released himself from her grasp.

"Jaune?" she said as Jaune shook his head.

"Pyrrha I can't, I came here for a reason and whatever it is, is has something to do with this!" he said as showed the orb. "Whoever sent me that message went to a lot of effort to get it and I need to find out why?" he said as Pyrrha stared for a brief moment, ignoring the sound of gunfire in the background.

"What!? What are you talking about!? We've broken into a government facility! We've committed an international crime against the entire Kingdom of Atlas! Those troopers will shoot us dead if we don't leave now!"

"Pyrrha someone sent me the message telling me to come here, they know how to track Cinders allies. If the council won't do anything about it then I will! I need that information! I need to stop them!" Gunfire started to fire as all of them took cover behind the corridors as the soldiers had started opening fire on the teens.

"Jaune listen to me it's not our fight anymore! Our fight ended when Cinder blew herself up at Beacon! Just let it go!"

"I can't! After everything that happened! After everything we lost I can't just stop! Not after what I saw! What I know is coming! And what I went through to come back to you! I can't let that happen to _you_!"

"And I don't want to lose _you_ _again_!" She screamed just a stray bullet passed them as they hid further behind cover.

"Can we discuss this later!" Ren said as he unleashed a barrage of concussive bullets at the squads.

"What do we do!?" Ruby said as she fired from her rifle. "They're blocking our exit and that's the only way to get out!" she said as Jaune thought for a moment, praying for a miracle. Suddenly bulkhead like doors slammed down as the large metal doors blocked the advancing troopers. More doors began to seal off the attackers, as the strange green lights that had guided Jaune light up and flashed down the hall.

"...Ok, that was weird?" Ruby said as Jaune nodded.

"Tell me about, it's been happening to me all night," he said as he removed himself from cover. The sound of something heavy hitting against the steel doors told him they were on limited time.

"Ok look, all the other ways are blocked and the only way left is this way," he said as he began to move down the hall.

"Wait!" he stopped as he turned to Pyrrha, "Jaune how can we trust this person? We still don't even know who it is or why they sent us here in the first place? What if they are leading us into a trap? What if they are working for Cinder's allies and they are just using you to get what they want?" concern evident in her voice, as the others looked concerned as well as the boy sighed.

"...I...I don't know. But right now I don't see a lot of options, and like it or not the only way we get out of here is that way. I am sorry I dragged you all into this, but I can't leave just yet...not until I know what it was all for..." he said before he sprinted down the hall.

The others reluctantly followed as they followed the strange green light that guided them through the base. As the five travelled through the facility the strange occurrence kept happening, as every time they ran into a group of soldiers, steel doors would slam in their faces and direct them down a different route until they stood before a large circular door.

"The lights stop here, this must be it," Jaune said as went to open the open the door when Pyrrha placed her hand on his.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" she asked as he shook his head.

"Not like we have much choice," he said as he opened the large door revealing a large corridor, which turned plastic, halfway through.

"Let's go," he said as the other nodded and then slowly walked inside.

"What do you think's in here?" Ruby asked as they walked inside.

"I don't know, but whatever it is, it has to be worth it?" Jaune said as they reached another circular door, but smaller than the one they just came in. But before they could troopers appeared behind them as they spotted the teens.

"HEY! STOP RIGHT THERE!" The trooper shouted as he ran after them,

"Shit! Close the door!" Jaune said as Ruby was about to run to the control when suddenly the door closed shut. They stared in awe at the door, before the one behind them opened and the floor lights turned on. Reluctantly the five entered the strange dark room as they instantly noticed that the floor felt different from the rest of the facility as the floors had lights embedded in the floor, almost like guide lights in airships.

"What is this place?" Pyrrha asked as the others looked around the dark room, to which Jaune suddenly felt the orb in his hand start to warm up. The lights in the floor suddenly activated as one set of green lights flashed to the left.

"I think we need to go left?" he said as they nodded and followed the green light to an elevator that opened up for them.

After sharing a concerned glance, they entered the elevator as they soon felt themselves going down. The doors then opened as they stepped into a room full of darkness, Jaune took a hesitant step forward as his foot's steps slightly echoed Before the lights turned on and his eyes widened at a large device at the back of the room. The device was similar to a lantern; with a large glass, sphere resting in the centre of a strange device connected by wires and tubing that spread itself out throughout the entire room.

"What is that?" Ruby asked as Ren looked at the device.

"I have no idea?" he said as Jaune suddenly felt the orb in his hand glow slightly. The others noticed too as they looked at the orb.

"Jaune was that thing anyway?" Nora asked as he looked sadly at the orb.

"It's...it's Penny's heart," he said as the group was stunned.

"What!? Penny!? She's here!?" Ruby said as she looked even more shocked as Jaune nodded.

"Or what's left of her, I found this thing in a lab next to her body. They said they were using it to reverse-engineer her core to create some sort of engine, I think? I didn't understand most of it...but it wasn't right what they're doing to her," He said as Ruby had an angered look on her face.

"We need to go get her!" she said, as she was about to sprint out of the room.

"Ruby wait!" Jaune called out when the elevator closed and a panel opened up near the device that seemed to gesture to the group.

"I...think it wants you to put it in?" Pyrrha said as Jaune looked between the panel and the orb before walking over and placing the orb inside. The panel then closed as the orb briefly disappeared before reappearing in the centre of the glass sphere. The Orb then began to float in the centre of the sphere as it released a small pulse that did something to the machines as lights started to come on.

"What the hell?" Jaune asked as a pedestal then rose up from the floor in front of him. The pedestal had circuitry running across its surface with a handprint on the top as Jaune looked curiously at the pedestal, then at the large device as he shared a glance back to the others. However, they were just as lost as he was as he turned back to the pedestal. He released a quick breath as he raised his hand.

"Okay...I've come this far, Might as well?" he said as he placed his hand on the pedestal.

Instantly he felt his hand sink into the pedestal as his aura flared to life, the pedestal glowing with white lines across its circuit like surface as his entire body exploded in a blaze of white with small edges of yellow as he screamed in pain.

"Jaune!" the others yelled as they tried to remove his hand from the machine. But no matter what they tried they could not remove his hand.

All around the room began to brighten as consoles and monitors sprung to life. The giant lantern like machine began to hum as the white aura from Jaune surged into the small core floating in the sphere. The orb inside then exploded in a blaze of green light as the white aura suddenly transformed into a blazing ball of green flames just as Jaune's hand was released from the pedestal.

"Jaune! Are you alright!?" Pyrrha asked Jaune held his hand that felt like it was dipped in acid.

"I-I am fine, what the heck just happened?" he asked as Pyrrha shook her head.

"I don't know, but whatever it is, we need to get out of here!" But before any of them could do anything the entire room began to shake as they were suddenly thrown to the floor. The large lantern humming even louder as the sounds of turbines and gears began to turn.

" _Main power source restored. Engines are online. Navigation's system is online. Magnetic clamps disengaged. Beginning launch procedures."_ A synthetic voice said as the others looked stunned.

"Wait! Did it just say **Launch Procedures?!** " Ruby said as the sounds of something heavy was moving above them. The elevator then opened up as once again green lights directed them to the lift.

"To the lift! Move!" Ren said as they all ran to the lift, despite the room shaking around them. But unlike last time, the lift didn't stop at the same level they got in on. They were now headed one level up as the doors opened up. Running out they were stunned to look as they now stood in what could only be described as a command bridge, as the room around them sprung to life and the windows depolarised to reveal the inside of the hangar bay.

"What is this thing!" Nora said as Jaune gulped slightly

"I think... think we're in an airship!" Jaune said as he now realised they were inside the ship he had passed on his way in.

"WHAT!" they yelled as suddenly the room jostled and the roar of engines could be heard within the room. From the window, they could see soldiers running along the catwalk as they began to fire at the vessel. But the small firearms did little damage as a green light shimmered around the ship. Streams of light then poured into the hangar as Jaune and the others noticed that the ship was slowly beginning to rise.

"What is going on!?" Pyrrha said as Jaune turned to her and smiled awkwardly.

"Um...I think were stealing an airship?" he said as chuckled nervously as they could only stare in muted silence.

* * *

Meanwhile – Outside the Facility

* * *

Qrow was having a blast as he dashed around the facility occasionally firing at the occasional soldiers that came after him. After he and the others had received the message on Jaune's location, Qrow flew them from the tavern to the small island of Vytal, but was forced to land just outside the facilities radars.

When they realised that he was at a supposed shutdown Atlas Military Base, something that Qrow would address later, they had to come up with a plan to sneak into the facility and get him out. Initially, the plan was to sneak into the base undetected and drag the stubborn boy out of the facility

However, that plan changed when the alarms went off and the whole facility was put on high alert. The plan then went from simply sneaking in, to creating a distraction while the others would sneak in during the chaos. Qrow having more experience and more likely to escape the Atlas Military decided to create the distraction while Pyrrha and her team snuck find Jaune and make their way to the shuttle they came in on.

After he got their attention he retreated into the forest, away from any of their machine gun fire and into more cramped spaces for the troops. This strategy would make their large numbers mean nothing if they couldn't move around properly. But time was always a factor in any battle, and the longer it dragged on, the more likely he would fall.

' _Damn it what is taking those kids so long? I can't keep this up forever,'_ he thought to himself as he shape-shifted behind a tree, reappeared behind two more soldiers and knocked them out with the blunt end of his sword.

Two soldiers came running at him with swords, as he easily dispatched one with two shots from his shotgun and a swift kick to the head to the other. Luckily their aura protected them, but rendered them unconscious from the heavy blows. Bullets rained down on him, as he swiftly moved into the forest, using the trees as cover while he took out each target one by one.

While from the observation deck, the Doctor who was left in charge of the facility looked annoyed as one assailant systematically took down his men. "What is taking so long!?" he growled as he heard more gunfire in the forest.

"Sir, the men are having a hard time trying to pin him down, as he seems to disappear and reappear somewhere else!" One of the commanders said over the radio before the sound of gunfire blasted through the speaker.

"Well then do something about it! Get the heavy weaponry and blow the forest to smithereens!" he ordered as he slammed his fist on the console. "General Cobalt left me in charge of this facility and I will not fail him, because of some bandit that got too close for his own good! And what is the situation with the intruder!?" he called out to the staff.

"Sir, we're still searching the facility but can't find anything. He or she may have stolen a uniform to sneak by undetected," one of the staff said as the Doctor growled at this.

"Sir! We just got an update from Bravo Team! They spotted several intruders near the Phantom's airlock!"

"What!? Stop them! Even if they can't operate it that project is highly classified! This cannot reach the council!" he said as he turned to a console. "Lockdown the hangar and bring me that intruder-!" he stopped as he felt the facility shake.

"What the devil!?"

"Sir! It's the Phantom! The engines are coming online!" one of the tech heads said as he spun around at this.

"WHAT!? HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE!?"

The roof of the facility began to open as the roar of engines caused all fighting to halt in its tracks, as soldiers and personal alike looked up to see the mighty vessel raising into the air. Qrow even had to stop and look in awe as well as he had never seen a ship like that before.

"What the hell is..." as the ship began to rise higher in air.

The doctor had to grit his teeth as he turned to his staff, "LOCKDOWN THE CONTROLS NOW!" he ordered as they tried to lock down the ship.

"We can't sir! Something is interfering with our systems, I can't stop it!" he said as the man ran to the window and banged on the glass. The ship then turned around and blasted off into the distance, far away from the facility and suddenly shimmered before fading away into thin air.

"NO!" he yelled as he watched his lifetime of hard work just up and left him.

Qrow looked at the ship and then the still stunned soldiers as he had a feeling that Ruby and her friends were somehow involved in that little stunt. So he took this opportunity to shapeshift into a crow and fly off to the shuttle, hopeful that they could explain what the hell was going on?

* * *

The Phantom – Main Bridge

* * *

Meanwhile, on the ship, the five teens could only watch as they drew further and further away from the base. The shock had finally left their system as they now realised their current situation.

"...Nora?" Ren asked the girl next to him.

"Yes, Ren?"

"...Did we just steal an Atlesian Warship..." He mumbled as he stared out the window.

"That we did Ren, that we did..." Nora said as she too stared out the window.

"Why did we steal an Atlesian Warship?" Pyrrha said this time as she was staring out of the window as well.

"Because the doors kept magically closing on us," Ruby said as Pyrrha nodded

"Oh, that's why...why did they do that?" she asked as Nora shrugged.

"I don't know? Why don't we ask Jaune?"

At the mention of this everyone turned to Jaune as he managed to remove the atlas armour he was disguised in. This left him in a skintight shirt, the black cargo pants and boots with the utility belt and broken sword still around his waist.

The boy in question was over by a large circular table that had a holographic map of Sanus displayed on its surface as he was staring at the small triangle representing them, and the current location that was set into the computer.

[Vale - Beacon Academy]

"Jaune?" at the mention of his name he turned back to the rest of his friends as confusion was evident on their faces. "Do you have any idea what's going on here?" Pyrrha asked as Jaune had no idea how to respond to the events that transpired that night.

"I think I can answer that?"

A strange voice said as they turned to the voice, as they though they were the only ones in the ship as they reached for their weapons. But what they saw made their eyes widen and their jaws hang open in shock. There before them stood a girl with short curly orange hair, green eyes that seemed to glow with happiness and joy while dressed in what could only be described as an old-fashioned blouse with short feminine overalls, as well as a black and green collar with a matching pair of stockings. But the strangest thing about her was the fact that she was supposed to be dead.

She had a warm smile on her face as she did a small wave to the stunned teens and simply said.

"Salutations friends,"

* * *

 **And scene well here is Chapter VII of The Remnant Knight. Sorry for the long wait, I've been getting my house ready to sell and it had taken a lot of my time away. But now I am back and hopefully, I can write more chapters before the next school years starts.**

 **So yes, Penny is Alive in my Alternate Universe. I'm not sure if she will come back in Volume 5 but I'm making her come back in this one. How she came back and why she was in a secret Altas Base instead of her fathers will be explained in the next chapter. Also, the ship is more or less based off the Normandy from Mass Effect 2-3  
**

 **I will also try and update Ascension of a King, Restart and Destroyer Reborn when I get the chance. Write takes a lot of time if you want to produce good work, so please be patient as I write and sort out my own life. And I will try and integrate some of Volume 4 into future chapters because I just saw the season finale and I knew that one day they would do that to Jaune's sword and I was right about what is going on in Mistral.**

 **But back to the story, what does Penny seem to know? How is she standing there before them? What happened after she was 'Killed' and why did she have them steal a prototype Stealth Ship?**

 **All this and more will be answered next time Chapter VIII: Ghost in the Machine**


	8. Chapter VIII: Ghost in the Machine

RWBY: The Remnant Knight

There are many paths in life, some that are set in stone and some that are in a state of flux. Then there are the ones that dare to defy the course of fate. This is one such path, where destiny is defied and the path of a Knight is forged in blood, steel and magic. This is the rise of the Remnant Knight.

* * *

Chapter VIII: Ghost in the Machine

* * *

The Phantom. A marvel of engineering and science developed by the Black-Ops division of the Atlas Government. Its engines large but quiet, its design sleek and beautiful cutting through the clouds like a knife through hot butter.

It was truly a marvel to behold. However, the crew of the newly acquired stealth ship were more in awe of the supposedly dead girl that was standing in front of them on the bridge. Penny just smiled at the five stunned faces, as no one had any idea how to respond to this. Until finally, someone managed to voice their feelings.

"PENNY!" Ruby yelled with glee as she ran towards the girl and flew into her arms...

Only to pass right through her and slid across the bridge floor with an audible noise. "Ahhhhh! She's a Ghost!" she said with a red mark on her face. The others tensed up as well, while Penny only giggled as she waved a hand dismissively.

"No Ruby, I am not a ghost. This is just my Holographic form..." her form shimmered for a moment as she looked at her hand. "Though I guess I am a ghost, in a sense?" she said as Ren stepped forward.

"Then what are you?" he asked as Penny looked down at her hand.

"As you can guess by now I am... was, not human to begin with. I was an android developed by the Atlesian Government to test the application of aura on machines. They created me to see if a machine could harness aura and use it as a weapon...they wanted to see if a machine could possess a soul..."

Everyone's eyes widened at this s they stared at the flickering form of Penny. Pyrrha had a look of her shame on her face as she made herself as small as possible. Luckily it was Ruby that broke the tension.

"Then...how are you alive? We saw you die?" she said as Penny smiled and looked around the room.

"I will admit after my body was destroyed, I too assumed that my life would end. But as it turned out my 'soul' merely retreated into my primary core. I could only assume my father created it as a failsafe, in case the likely event that my chassis would ever become damaged beyond repair. I assumed my father would have retrieved me, however, General Cobalt took procession of my body and experimented on my core." Jaune nodded at that.

"That General guy, Cobalt? He said he wanted to use the same thing you have on this ship, like some kind of power source?" he said as Penny nodded.

"Yes, he wanted to reverse engineer my core to power this, 'The Phantom', the latest stealth ship that Atlas has ever produced." She said as she pointed around the room.

"For the past five months, I was held at that facility, broken down and studied so they could learn the secrets of my Core, hoping to discover how to replicate my heart and turn it into a power source for their machines. I could feel everything they were doing to me, either they didn't know my core was still active or they just didn't care. I could feel them open up my heart, tinker with my core and prod at my soul...I was afraid...I was afraid I was going to die," she said as they looked at the girl with sadness and shock.

"But then, when the CCT Network came back online four months ago and I saw what had happened," she then turned to Jaune as she smiled, "And after watching the way you fought of that woman who was responsible for all those deaths, I knew I couldn't give up, just like how you didn't give up. It was because of that I discovered my semblance..." she waved her hand as the console sprung to life and the ship raised itself above the clouds.

"I am a Technopath"

"Technopath? So, you can read minds?" Ruby said as Pyrrha shook his head.

"No that is a telepath. A Technopath is a person that can communicate and control other machines. It's like my polarity ability, but she can make machines do her bidding without shorting them out. But there hasn't been anyone recorded so far that can actively control other machines." Penny nodded at this as bounced on the balls of her feet. Well, holographic feet.

"My soul is...special, and I believe it is because I am part A.I."

"A.I? What does that mean?" Nora asked.

"It stands for Artificial Intelligence," Ren asked,

"Oh! ...What does the A stand for-"

"Not now Nora," Ren said as Nora huffed and crossed her arms.

"Party Pooper, not letting me tell my joke," she said as went and sat in the corner of the airship. Ren merely rolled his eyes and turned back to Penny.

"I assume that means you were based off a computer program?" he said as shrugged her shoulders.

"Well, yes and no. While I do have a soul, my mind and personality are part of an artificial intelligence program my father created to regulate my memories and personality. I believe it was to compensate for the 'lack of a life' that I did not have, to begin with. I am not one hundred percent on the details, files on my creation are securely sealed with high-level encryptions by both General Ironwood and my father." she smiled as she thought of her creator.

"But because of it, I can 'understand' the machines better. It makes it easier for me to gain control and access systems better than I ever could before," she said as she brushed her hand on the metallic surface, small bits of data breaking away from her holographic image before settling as Pyrrha looked to the floor.

Penny noticed Pyrrha's rather recluse demeanour as she turned to her, "Pyrrha?" she said as said girl jumped slightly.

"I can tell from your vitals and demeanour that you are rather uncomfortable seeing me. I can only assume it was because I was terminated by your hand during the tournament?" she said as Pyrrha hung her head slightly. "But I would like you to know that I hold no ill feelings towards you," she said as Pyrrha looked back up stunned.

"After reviewing the match and from Cinder Falls testimony, like Miss Xiao Long, you too were deceived by Miss Sustari's Illusionary abilities. Please do not be distressed by my current state, I am rather happy just to be alive right now. So please don't be worried, we are friends after all?" she said as Pyrrha stared in awe before smiling.

"Thank you," she said as Jaune placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"But anyway, when I discovered my semblance, I spent all my time learning how to control it. I did not want to raise suspicions, so I had to learn to control it when they had my core in the labs, or when the scientists had their backs turned. I did this so that I would be able to contact all of you, help me escape and aid you in your quest to stop this 'Mastermind' that you spoke of Jaune Arc," she said as Jaune raised an eyebrow.

"How did you know about the mastermind?"

"Thanks to my new semblance and my current form, I was able to access the CCT Network and listen in on your conversation with the 'Remnant Council'. After going over the evidence that was recovered and looking at the data, I am 78.5% positive that you were correct. There is someone else out there," she said as Jaune somehow felt relieved at this.

Happy to know that he was not just grasping at straws.

"But how? How do you know that there is a mastermind behind all this?" Ruby asked as Penny waved her hand and several holographic monitors appeared before her.

"After analysing the evidence that was gathered by the joint Atlas, Vale and Keir Arc Intelligence, I noticed some odd abnormalities that make no sense unless you connect the pattern. First was the deceased 'Cinder Fall'," she said as she showed her image from the battle that made Pyrrha's blood run cold with anger.

The image of her unnerving smirk forever ingrained to the furthers corners of her mind.

"Files claimed she was as a student of Haven Academy, but after scanning her blood from the samples that were salvaged from the tower. I identified key markers that indicated her age was too old to be that of a student, as well as the fact that there were no other official records of her prior to the tournament. Neither for Emerald Sustari and Mercury Black. But I cannot confirm that until I gain access to Haven Academies records, which are currently locked down."

She showed the blood analysis that identified her age to be older than the others.

"Also, after monitoring the footage that was recovered from her 'confession' I noticed that her heart rate and voice pattern correlated the fact that she was indeed telling the truth," she said as she then waved her hand and showed an image of codes.

"But one of the biggest clues was the virus that took down the system. I was able to analyse a fragment of the code that was retrieved from the tower by the Black Ops Division and the rest when the CCT network came back online. It was difficult being fragmented all over the network, but I managed to pull most of the code back together. Analysts have confirmed that there was a virus that infected the system, but could find the point of origin, other than this access code that is used by all academy teachers and generals, so the initial analysts wrote it off."

"However, I noticed some strange abnormalities deeper in the code, ones that should not exist in Academies codes. These ones were specially designed to make a back-door access to the entire system, as well as allowing the infection of other devices," Jaune's eyes narrowed at this.

"Like General Ironwoods scroll?" Penny nodded at this.

"Correct...That's how she gained access to Communications and the Atlas Drones. She played us from the start," she said and showed the rest of the code. "But there is something else," she said as everyone gained more attention at this,

"The strangest thing is that the code that initially started the process, was an 'ALAC' an Academy Level Access Code, one that was compatible with the CCT system. But this level of access could only be achieved by someone who has high clearance and access to the system." Everyone looked confused as Penny began to explain.

"You see, every week the Academies are given a new randomised access code to the system before they are reset and changed - to keep hackers from accessing the major system. To access the system and plant the virus, Cinder would have needed the initial access codes before she could plant the virus, which needed to happen exactly when the codes were set to be changed...which was during the Beacon Dance," eyes went wide as each one of them looked at each other.

"W-Wait a minute, you mean to say that someone **gave** her access to our systems, on **purpose**?" Jaune asked as Penny nodded.

"Evidence seems to point to that conclusion. Somewhere in Mistral, there is a traitor amongst their ranks," they blinked at this.

"Mistral? You're that certain?" Ren asked as Penny nodded.

"The access code that was used is similar to the ones that are used frequently at Haven Academy. Cinder's allies claimed to be students of that Academy, the likely probability is that someone amongst the teaching staff is a spy for a much larger organisation," Jaune walked over to the main console as he placed his hand on the edge and gripped the metal.

"This...this is some heavy stuff," Ruby said as she sat down on the floor.

"H-How could someone betray us like that?" Pyrrha asked as she was shaken very the knowledge that someone from her home would cause such a disaster.

"We never really know what a person is capable of until their true colours are revealed." He said as Jaune nodded.

"In any case, we have a starting point. Somewhere at Haven Academy, there is a traitor amongst their midst. And because the invasion failed, I can only guess that this person will be nervous and will do everything in their power to cover the evidence. So, we need to head to Mistral and bring them to justice, before they do something else that will put everyone in Mistral in danger," he said as Pyrrha turned to him.

"What? Jaune are you seriously still planning to go after them! In your current state!?" he turned back as he nodded.

"Yes, if the council is unwilling to do anything, then it's up to us to stop them. Who knows what else these people have planned? And who knows when they're going to strike? We have to stop them!" Pyrrha could only stare as a feeling of anger washed over her.

"Jaune listens to yourself, you're becoming obsessed with this whole conspiracy that you're overlooking what it's doing to yourself, what it's doing to us! I mean for God's sake you're still recovering! If Penny hadn't texted us your location, Gods know what would have happened to you!" he turned to Penny as she nodded.

"Jaune I know what this means to you and I know you're stubborn enough to go through with it...but the thing is I can't watch you get yourself killed again...I can't bare myself to see that again. After everything we've been through, everything we've lost, can't we just leave it to someone else?" she placed her hand in his as she rested her head on his chest.

"Can't we just leave this behind?"

No one said anything on the bridge as they were not inclined to interfere in this argument. Pyrrha did have a point though, this was way over their heads. They were just kids, kids that were dragged into a war because of something they still can't understand when half a year ago all they had to worry about was a dance. Yet Jaune was right as well, someone out there was planning something dangerous, and they could strike again.

If the Council wasn't going to do anything, then who would? But why did it have to be them? Why not someone else?

Pyrrha suddenly felt to arms wrap around her form as Jaune embraced her.

"You're right...I am sorry, I am sorry I put you through all this and I know how hard it is to cope with everything that's happened. Because trust me, I would like nothing more than to just let this all go and spend the rest of my life somewhere else. Far away from all this crazy stuff...to be there with you," he placed his head on the nook of her neck as she did the same to him.

"But the thing is we can't ever go back. Ozpin and the others have already dragged us into this when they brought you down to the vault when they put you at risk and told you about the Maidens. And the people behind all this, won't hesitate to kill anyone that stands between them and their goals, what they may be. And the thing is I can't stop, not because of some insane obsession with bringing these people to justice...it's because I am scared."

They draw back as Pyrrha looked at his face, fear clearly etched on his face as his eyes wandered off to the holographic map of Vale. The damage could be seen from five months ago still evident on Vale.

"I still can't remember what happened to me on the other side. But all I know is what I saw terrified me...seeing everything burnt to the ground, the people I care about suffering while thinking I had spared them from it...I just couldn't sit by and allow it to happen. Not unless there was something I could do to stop it," he let go as he walked around the map and placed himself at the end.

"I'm not naive to know what's up ahead. Death, suffering, loss. Everything we experienced during the invasion will come at us again tenfold or even greater. But I can't sit back and do nothing, not when I know what's coming...this path will make us experience all these feelings again and again until either we fail or they do." He sighed as he looked at each one of them.

"I'm not going to ask any of you to stay, I'm not going to ask any of you to follow me on this insane journey. You're more than welcome to go home and stay away from this fight. But I am staying, and I am going to fight..." silence resonated in the bridge as they all shared a cautious glance unsure of what to say.

"I'm with you Jaune"

Everyone turned to Ren as he and Nora walked over to him. "I made a promise to myself, that I would never abandon my friends again. I wasn't there during your fight with Cinder, but I will be here for you now. You are like a brother to me, and I will never let anything like that happen to you again," He said as he held out his hand to which Jaune just stared at the hand before shaking it with his own.

"You can count on me too, fearless leader," Nora said as she hefted her hammer on her shoulder. "We're a team, and no one is going to take Team JNPR down again. Not now, not ever!" she said with a grin. "Plus, Ren and I have nowhere else to go?" she said as Jaune chuckled.

"I'm with you too, Jaune," Ruby said as she walked over to him. "Us leaders have to stay together, right?" she said as Jaune knew what she meant and nodded. He then turned to Penny as she pointed to the ship.

"I am integrated into the systems so I will be accompanying you either way," Jaune chuckled at this as he nodded his head. He then turned to Pyrrha as she was the only one left, and he knew that she would object to this. He didn't blame her. After she had been through, it's no wonder she would want to walk away from it all.

"Pyrrha, I-" she raised her hand as he instantly stopped.

"Stop, I know what you're going to say and I know that nothing I say will change your mind, right?" the boy could only nod as she sighed.

"I am not going to lie Jaune, I don't approve of any of this, and I would rather you just let this go and walk away from it all. But I know that deep down you are right, they must be stopped and you're just going to keep chasing after this until whoever is behind all this is brought to justice. That being said..." she looked back up at him as she nodded.

"As your partner, I should right by your side, no matter how dangerous it may be..." Jaune smiled at this until she pointed a finger straight at his face.

"But! That gives you no excuse to put yourself at needless risk! And don't think I'll stop worrying about you for even a second! If you promise not to get yourself killed and never die on me! Then I will accompany you on this mission, deal?" she said strongly as Jaune stared in shock and awe, before chuckling and nodding his head.

"Alright, alright, I promise. I won't put myself in any needles danger if I can help it," he said as he grabbed her hand and they shook. "Welcome aboard Pyrrha," she nodded as she smiled at him.

"Thank you, Jaune," she said as they were lost momentarily in each other's gaze.

"So~," Nora said as she clapped her hand and brought the two out of their gaze. "What's the first objective, Captain?" she said as Jaune looked confused.

"Captain?"

"Well you are the one calling the shots, and this is a 'ship', only makes sense that you're the Captain," Ruby argued as Jaune only sighed and nodded.

"Well, first things first, we need to head back to Vale..." he looked at the map as it focused on the currently reconstructed tower.

"I need to get my sword back"

* * *

Meanwhile – Unknown

* * *

Dark red skies loomed over violet shade crystals, that littered the magenta soaked wasteland as pools of black pile bubbled and soaked sections of the wasteland. Emerging from the pools of darkness were the creatures of Grimm, as newly formed Beowulf emerged from its depths and howled into the ever-growing wasteland.

But above it, stood a massive castle that looked as if it was made from both crystal and stone, as it loomed over the pools of darkness. From high in her castle a woman stared out into the valley as she watched the birth of Grimm.

The woman was a deathly pallor, covered with deep red and purple veins that run up her arms and face. The sclera of her eyes was jet black and her irises glowed with an eerie red. She has a black diamond-shaped marking in the centre of her forehead. She wore a very long black robe with red designs resembling eyes as well as a ring resembling an insect on her right index finger. Her white hair formed into a bun with six offshoots from which ornaments are suspended.

This woman was Salem, an ancient enemy and the 'True Mastermind' behind the Invasion of Beacon and the theft of the Fall Maidens Power.

To those who knew her she was a calm and intelligent woman, who was as patience as she was insidious. However, the failure of Beacon's Invasion had made her rather 'upset' as her eyes held back a deep anger and rage that could turn a man to stone with one glare. Years of planning and manipulating she had worked so long to achieve, was thrown away because of one boy and the arrogance of her 'favourite' piece.

"Status," she said to the men behind her as three men sat at a dark crystalline table that glowed with a dark magenta hue.

"The Failure of the Invasion has set us back a quite bit, my Mistress. Cinders failure to fully attain the Maidens power and keep the Dragon alive has significantly reduced Grimm forces in the area. Not to mention that the Fall Maidens power has mysteriously disappeared and we have no way to locate it. It as if it has simply vanished?" he said as Salem looked towards the man.

The man had short black and grey hair. He also had a moustache and green eyes, while wearing a grey overcoat with yellow linings, a yellow dress shirt and a black necktie. His pants were the same colour as his overcoat with a yellow-buttoned undercoat and fingerless gloves matching his cordovan shoes, under which he wears yellow socks.

This man was Doctor Arthur Watts, Salem's head scientist and negotiator.

"Cinder had made a grave error in judgement, Mistress. She was overconfident with her new abilities and it has cost us heavily in Vale, clearly, she was not ready for such an assignment," the man said as he had low opinions of failure. And with the failure that they suffered in Vale, his opinion of Cinder was at an all-time low.

"And what is the status of the White Fang? How bad was the blowback from Cinder's boasting?" she asked a large man opened his eyes as he turned to the woman.

"Cinders boasting of their true purpose has had a negative effect on our partnership with them. Adam Taurus is slaughtering any representative we send to him to try and convince him otherwise. He is hell bent on finding Cinder and making her pay for her deception. Which will be hard for him, given her status," the large man said.

The man who spoke was simply known as Hazel Rainart.

Hazel is a large, muscular man with short brown hair, a beard and hazel eyes. He wore a two-tone olive green coat over a black 3/4 sleeve shirt and a large belt. His pants were black and his boots are brown with white fronts. His hairy arms appear to have some scars near the edges of his sleeves. Not much was known about him, but from his calm demeanour and towering height, one would not know what he would do, if you were cornered by him.

"Not only that, but recruitment for the White Fang has hit an all-time low. Faunus that haven't joined up are now actively dismissing any White Fang supporters that come their way. Sienna Khan is struggling to maintain a hold on the organisation, with most of their own members leaving the organisation. Leaving only Adam and his loyalists left in the remains of their former group. In fact, some of them are even calling for the original leader, Ghira Belladonna, to return to a leadership role for the Faunus people. He could become a problem," he said as Salem shook her head.

"Ghira is no threat, he has lost his taste for politics years ago, he will not return to a role his people forced him out of. But still, keep an eye on him. With how Vale turned out, there is no telling what will happen. And what of our informant in Mistral? What is his status?"

"He has become increasingly nervous that his involvement will be brought to light. He may even try to broker a deal with the Council for diplomatic immunity if that were to happen." Watts said as Salem shook her head.

"We must reassure him that the plan will succeed and that his involvement will not be discovered. Tell him that we have merely hit a small 'bump' in the road and that he is to proceed as planned. Even without White Fang support, we will still bring Mistral to its knees," she said as Watts nodded and bowed to her.

Suddenly a low chuckle sounded opposite of him. "Oh boy, Cinder really screwed up, didn't she?" he chuckled as Watts turned to the man in front of him.

The man was pale with gold eyes and a brown ponytail braided to resemble a scorpion's tail. He wore a white sleeveless jacket with leather belts strapped to it, along with white pants. His jacket is left open, exposing his bare chest, which is crisscrossed with prominent scars. His arms are covered with purple bandages and leather vambraces. He also wears leather boots covering his entire shin with knee guards. On each earlobe is a silver, ring-shaped earring, and near the top of his left ear is another matching earring.

This man was Tyrian Callows, and he was as sadistic as he appeared. "All that power and she's been defeated by a boy with limited training and a recently awakened semblance! That is hilarious!" he said as his insane cackle echoed in the castle hall. Salem, however, merely raised her hand as he stopped his laughter and starred longingly at the woman.

"Which brings us to the other matter. The boy, the one who defeated Cinder, what has our informants gathered on him?" she asked as Watts coughed into his hand to clear his throat.

"Our informants have learned that his name is Jaune Arc, son of Roland and Diane Arc and eighth sibling to the Arc bloodline. Reports indicated that shortly after his battle with Cinder, he died from the after effect of his families 'curse' but was then resurrected a mere three hours later" he said as Hazel narrowed his eyes.

"Surely there must be a mistake in the report? No one could have possibly returned from the dead three hours afterwards. It must be something the Council made up to boost morale after the Invasion," Watts merely shook his head as he held up a document.

"My informants were able to recover documented footage of his resurrection, and the field medic had pronounced him deceased at 0530 am that morning. The boy was definitely dead," he said as he slid the photographs on the table.

The image of both Jaune's death and resurrection plainly printed on the paper as Salem stared at the boy. Tyrian grinned as he picked up one of the photos.

"Ooo~, somebody broke the rules then, hasn't he? Well, we can't have that, now can we? Dead people should stay dead after all. My Mistress, allow me to correct Cinder's blunder and kill the boy myself. I promise you that he will not return after I am done with him, an 'Eye for an Eye' after all," he said with a mad cackle as he relished in the thought of returning the boy back to the realm of the dead.

Salem, however, signalled him to stop as they all fell silent as she stared at the images on the table.

"Despite Cinder's blunders, Vale is still weakened from its attack and the four Kingdoms are now distrusting of their own allies. Our informants have confirmed that tensions between the Humans and Faunus are at an all-time high. All it will take is one match to set off the powder keg of their hatred. This allows more Grimm to add pressure to their fears and make them doubt and distrust their own protectors." they nodded at this.

"But none the less, Cinder did succeed in one task, one that I was unsure she would accomplish. She managed to kill Ozpin, and that is no mere feat may I remind you?" she said as Hazel, Watts and Tyrian nodded at their Queen.

"But while Ozpin was a formidable opponent, we now have a new threat, one that has somehow managed to overcome the realm death itself and return to the world of the living. This person could threaten the very nature of the plan itself... But could also prove to be a powerful asset, if we play our hand right."

She looked at the moments Jaune had returned and when his armour had taken a rather monstrous appearance. A small grin on her face as she studied his armour.

"Yet despite their Victory, we still have the upper hand. The Council will no doubt make Cinders confession of our existence a false claim, to pacify the masses. This will give us the element of surprise that we need to carry out our plan. And while the other Maidens will be in hiding, it will only be a matter of time before they are found, and their power is ours." She said calmly as she walked over to the corner of the room.

"Yet without the Fall Maiden's power, we are back to square one, because of its mysterious disappearance." She walked over to a large object that was shrouded in shadow.

"But then, that is why you are here...Cinder"

The object was revealed to be a wheelchair, with the body of Cinder laying on its surface. The shallow breaths that she took indicated that she was still alive, but from the state of her body, that was argued at best. Her entire body was wrapped in bandages and metal, with small sections of burnt flesh peeking out of the edges.

The entire left section of her body was damaged beyond repair, along with her right arm that was severed from the forearm down and nothing more than a stump. Most of her hair was competently gone with a few strands still poking out of the wrappings. Machines and tubes were placed all over her body, as one feed a tube down her throat and pumped oxygen into her lungs.

Behind her were Emerald and Mercury as they had remained silent in the background, still horrified of the place they now were, and the people that they now worked for. Emerald and Mercury took several steps back as Cinder's one lone eye stared up in fear of the woman that now towered over her.

"Be grateful that I bothered to save your life and release the seal I had on the Maidens power at the last minute. Otherwise, you would be nothing more than ash in the wind."

Cinder remembered the burning pain of the Maiden's fire and the seal releasing the power into the air, making it look as if she had exploded. But the damage done to her body was intense, and the harsh removal from the sword that impaled her chest should have killed her.

But then again, Salem could steal a Maidens power. Keeping a dying woman alive was a simple trick to her.

"But make no mistake," Salem said as she grabbed an IV tube and squeezed, causing the woman to scream thought her bandages, even if they only came out as muffled cries.

"The only reason you are alive is that you managed to kill the Great and Powerful Ozpin and that you may prove useful later. But for now, you are no more useful to me than a broken tool, that is one more crack away from being discarded." She said as she released the tubes and Cinder slumped into her chair, her pained filled breaths echoing in the room as Salem gave her one last disgusted look and then turned to the others.

"Hazel, I need you to head to the White Fang and meet with their leader, Sienna Khan. Try and Remind them of the deal they made with us and what will happen if any more of their members turn away from our goals." She commanded as Hazel nodded.

"Dr Watts, I want you to head to Mistral and meet with our informant, assure him that everything will continue as planned. And if he dares to turn on us...dispose of him," she said as the man nodded.

"Very good ma'am," he said as she then turned to Tyrian.

"And Tyrian," she said as his head sprung up and he beamed with anticipation. "I have a special assignment for you. I want you to track down this boy, this Jaune Arc, and bring him to me..." she said as the man grinned.

"Alive, I have special plans for him," she said as he froze, then pouted and then grinned.

"As you wish, My Mistress..." he then got up as he began to leave the room, but stopped near Cinder and pointed to his eye. "Eye for an Eye," he said as he began to chuckle loudly as his laughter echoed amongst the castle as he envisioned the state that waits for Jaune Arc.

And the utter joy he would feel when he pleases his Mistress.

* * *

 **And Scene, well here is Chapter VIII of The Remnant Knight. Sorry for the short and later chapter, but I just finished UNI and I wanted to introduce Penny's revival and what Salem has been doing these past five months. I have sort of neglected them for the past four chapters, figured I might as well pop in and see what they are doing. And yes, Cinder is back, but I have plans for and as for how she is alive. Salem has the means to steal a Maidens power, I have no doubt she has more abilities like keeping dead people from dying.**

 **But now that Salem's forces are on the move, how will Jaune and the others combat these new foes, and how will Jaune sneak into Vale when he is currently wanted by the Black Ops of Atlas? Stay tuned and find out in...**

 **Chapter IX: Return to the Scarred City**


	9. Chapter IX: The Scarred City

RWBY: The Remnant Knight

There are many paths in life, some that are set in stone and some that are in a state of flux...then there are the ones that defy the course of fate. This is one such path, where destiny is defied and the path of a Knight is forged in blood, steel and magic. This is the Rise of the Remnant Knight.

 **A/N: Looking for a writer to write some reaction fics for my fics such as Restart, Remnant Knight and another story of your choosing. I am a fan of reaction fics as I feel they offer an inside look at what the main RWBY cast would think of if they watched these events. So, message me.**

* * *

Chapter IX: The Scarred City

* * *

The Kingdom of Vale, once a crowning achievement of what humanity could accomplish was now no more than a scarred reminder of what it once was and the arrogance the led to its current state. The skies were cast with a near-permanent cloud of grey and black as the city was still in a state of decay. Even though it had been five months since the Invasion, the repairs were slow and numerous and hard to maintain.

Mostly because of the large amount of damage that was sustained from both Grimm, Atlas Knights and White Fang forces.

Not only that, the CCT network was only just being repaired three months ago, and as Glynda predicted, the other Kingdoms were too busy guarding their own borders to lend aid to the damaged city and it would take a long time before Vale would ever rise again from the ashes.

Beacon being hit the hardest as the former Academy now lay in ruin and decay, with most of its facilities being retrofitted to serve as a Militaristic Base for what remained of the Vale military as well as accommodating the Atlas Black-ops Division - who managed to set up a perimeter around the Tower and in most parts of the school.

The only reason they could establish a base so close to the tower was that Atlas was the original creators of the CCT network, and thus were one of the only ones capable of repairing it.

The other reason was that the Vale military was still in complete disarray, with most of the higher-ranking officials confirmed dead and the Headmaster of Beacon Academy still classified as missing with no leads to his whereabouts. And for the fact that General Cobalt had more connections within the Atlas government and support from the Remnant Council.

The only reason that the Keir Arc forces remained was that the citizens were still cautious and untrusting of the Vale and Atlas forces and found more comfort in Arc forces as the captain of the Arc forces was related to the boy who saved them from Cinder and the Dragon.

Which was where we find Bleu Arc, General Ironwood and Glynda Goodwitch as they were busy organising the relief efforts. The months clearly influencing them as Ironwood now sporting a light beard on his face, while Goodwitch's hair was tied in an intricate braid to keep her hair out of her face.

"The civilians in the North District need more food and the civilians in the South District need more medicine to combat the fever that developed over the winter, we need more medicine from Keir Arc who's the closest fort we have to supply us," Glynda said as she pointed to the map. To which Bleu Arc pointed to certain sections.

"We also need to reconstruct shelters here and here in the East District while also fortifying the West District's food stores that need extra guards from looters. When can we expect the next shipment from Atlas?" Bleu asked as Ironwood held up a manifest.

"We should expect another shipment in the next two days, but my men are stretched thin helping to repair the walls that were destroyed in the invasion. Atlas say's they're sending more troops and supplies, but the citizens of Vale are not taking them kindly. I guess they still blame Atlas for the Knights killing their families. And it also doesn't help that Atlas had placed an embargo on Dust trades between them and the other Kingdoms, which is causing further scrutiny of the Kingdom..." he sighed as he rubbed his face.

"It's honestly all just a big mess...And unfortunately, I must report back to Atlas as soon as possible, as they need me to take Ozpin's Position on the Council and co-ordinate the Embargo that's been placed. I head out first thing in the morning, after I report to Cobalt," Ironwood said as Glynda nodded.

"I understand, thank you for all your help, James," she said silence resonated within the tent.

"...How is he?" Glynda asked as she looked at Blue, "How is Jaune Arc?" she asked as Bleu sighed.

"Physically he is getting better, with Pyrrha by his side he is making progress. But mentally, he still believes that there is a bigger threat out there. Father and Mother are concerned about him and I don't blame them. He seems to think that this was only the beginning, but to what I don't know?"

Glynda hung her head, knowing that the boy was probably right, but because of the Councils decision to bury it, she was forced to keep her mouth shut. Even Ironwood had to hold his tongue after everything they had been through.

The tent flaps suddenly opened as Coco and Cardin walked in, "Headmistress, we're he to report-" Coco said as Glynda raised her hand and shook her head.

"Please don't call me that, with Beacon in ruins, I have no right to be called that title...not after failing to stop this. In any case, what have you to report?" she asked as she and Cardin stood in attention.

"Both our teams have just come back from Patrol, still no sign of any Grimm in the area yet. It seems that with the Dragon dead, the rest of the Grimm are in hiding in fear of whatever killed the Dragon returning." She said as Glynda nodded.

"At least that is some good news"

"Not entirely Miss, while there haven't been any Grimm Attacks, there have been several Bandit attacks closer to the perimeter. Supplies and Ammunition have been stolen from the West District along with ten crates of food. They are getting braver by the day, Ma'am" Cardin said as Glynda cursed.

"Damn it! One problem gets solved, another always presents itself. Any news on the other teams?" she asked as they both shook their heads.

"Port is still organising the relief efforts in the East District, while Prof-I mean Doctor Oobleck is still combing through the ruins of Beacon for any salvageable materials or information. But it has been proving difficult because of the Black-Ops Division that surrounds the tower," Coco said as Glynda growled at this.

"Cobalt, he always was a pain in the ass back in the day, no he's just a royal pain. Thank you for your services, please head to the quartermaster and get some food, you lot have done good work today," she said as both team leaders nodded while Ironwood patted their shoulders.

"You two and your teams are a great service to your people, I can assure you that Atlas Academy would more than welcome you with open arms," he said as the leaders smiled but shook their head.

"With all due respects sir, we need to stay in Vale. It's our home, after all, we can't just abandon it yet," Coco said as the man nodded.

"I understand, you honour me with your loyalty and devotion to your Kingdom," he said as they nodded and proceeded to leave the tent. But stopped as Cardin turned back to the adults.

"Just one last thing," Cardin said as all three turned to him. "Jaune, how is he? Is he alright?" he asked as Coco had also been wondering about the boy. The adults looked at themselves and then back to the pair.

"Jaune is fine, he is recovering well and should be back to full strength within a month, that is what my Grandmother reckons. But there is nothing to worry about, Jaune will be just fine," Bleu said as the two leaders nodded and then left the tent, while Glynda and Bleu returned to their work.

Wandering the street, Coco and Cardin walked in silence as they passed all the destroyed homes and business. People were in the streets huddle together for warmth, while others were either wrapped together with ragged clothes or lining up for hot food that was being served out to the public.

"Have you ever seen a sight like this?" Cardin asked as they passed by the people.

"No, I've never seen anything like this. It's hard to imagine that this was once a thriving city, now look at it, everything is destroyed. I used to buy my best clothes in that shop right there," she said as she pointed to a shop that was now boarded up and decayed.

"Now, I don't even care anymore about my wardrobe anymore..." she said as fiddled with the clothes she had been wearing for the past two weeks. Dirt stains and tears evident all through the fabric as it was a testament to what she had been through.

Cardin felt the same as he looked around. "How could something like this have happened?" he asked as the people held faces of sorrow.

"I don't know, let's just be thankful that Jaune managed to stop it from getting any worse...Though, I hardly imagine that this is any better?" she looked around and frowned at all the destruction that scarred the city.

"Speaking of Jaune, I am surprised you were asking about him, though you two were enemies or something?" she said with a grin while Cardin shook his head.

"No, not after what happened, not after he sacrificed himself," he looked down at a puddle in the middle of the road as he stared at his reflection.

"Before all of this, I used to think that I was better than everyone, that I deserved to be the greatest huntsman this world would ever see and that everyone else was meant to stay under my boot. But I see now that I was blind to what it truly takes to be a huntsman..." he looked over to the tower as the Black-Ops ships hovered above the tower.

"Jaune, I think always knew what it took to be a true huntsman, even if he wasn't aware of it himself. He knew that to be the greatest huntsman you need to be willing to sacrifice yourself for the greater good. He saved my life against that Ursa and again when he fought that woman...and what was I doing? Just swinging my mace to survive, pretending to be something I could only dream to be. I owe him more than I could ever pay back..." he said as Coco was shocked to see the former arrogant leader talk in such a way.

This was certainly different from the boy that would bully her teammate, for which he formerly apologised when they began to work together. She smiled as she thought about the boy who stood against the madness and returned from the darkness.

"He really is something?" she said as she looked around at the possibility of hope being returned to this city. Her eyes then narrowed as she spotted two people wearing cloaks as they seemed to be avoiding the patrolling guards.

"Who the?" she said as she and Cardin quickly followed them. The two cloaked people nodded as they quickly dashed from the area, but not before Coco managed to get a glimpse of one of the people as she instantly recognised...

"Jaune?"

* * *

Earlier – The Phantom – Just outside the Border of Vale

* * *

The Phantom hovered silently in the clouds as the occupants looked out of the cloaked airship. From their view on the bridge, they could see several Atlas Airships hovering above the city of Vale, while several smaller ships circled around the CCT tower.

"Whoa...That is a lot of airships," Ruby said as she watched all the ships flying in the sky. "How are we supposed to get through all that?" she asked as Nora turned to Penny's hologram as she appeared beside the map.

"Can't you just drive up to the tower? Do a quick drop off and then blast us the heck out of here?" Nora said as she imitated the sounds of a ship blasting off. Penny, however, shook her head as she brought up a holographic display off the tower.

"Unfortunately, we cannot, the tower is surrounded by Atlas Black-Op ships that are too closely packed for me to position the Phantom over or near the tower. As well as the fact that they have Anti-Air Defences positioned around the entirety of the school. Even with this ship's cloaking device, I cannot simply just 'drive up' to the tower. The best I can offer is a quick extraction from the shuttle, but that would be cutting it close," she said as she displayed the scenario of the ship getting too close and then being blasted out of the sky.

"Okay, scratch that," Nora said as Jaune walked over to the map.

"So, the real question is how do we get in? We would have to make our way on foot through the city and then sneak into the academy from the landing pads here." Jaune said as he pointed to the landing pads near the supply depots. "But I have no doubt they will have security measures. Penny, could you hack into the security system like you did at the base?" he asked as Penny Shook her head.

"Not really, the only reason I could hack the Base was that I had spent months learning the system inside and out. Another system will require me little more time and effort, even with my Technopath. I can however remotely access the system from here on the Phantom if we upload a virus into the system," She then waved her hand as all of their scrolls pinged.

"The software I just uploaded to your scrolls should allow me to create a bridge between the system and the Phantom, it was based on the fragmented code extracted from Cinder's scroll, creating a virus that can hack the system." She said as both teams nodded.

"Once I hack the system, there will be a 10-minute delay before the security system will reactivate. By then, you'll have little time to get out before you'll be surrounded by Atlas forces. It is vital you get to the extraction point before that happens," Penny said as she showed the extraction point at the Beacon Cliffs.

"Luckily this ship is also equipped with a small shuttle called the 'Spectre'. While it doesn't have the same cloaking tech as the Phantom. Its whisper-quiet engines will allow you to sneak into the City. And once you upload the virus, I'll come in with the shuttle and extract you from here at the Beacon Cliffs. Then all we must do is outrun Atlas Black-Ops fighters, which should prove no problem thanks to the Phantom's stealth systems," she said as Jaune nodded while Pyrrha walked over to the map.

"It looks like we can take this service elevator all the way to the top, where Jaune's sword is located. That seems to be where most of the ships are parked," she said as Ren then walked over to the table.

"But what about the shield? It was never recovered after the invasion," he asked as Penny held up some holographic displays.

"I've been monitoring Black-Ops Channels since we arrived, it looks as if they found the Shield after the battle and is located here, in a separate area of the school. From what I can guess it is in Professor Ports Classroom used to be," she said as she showed images of the school and surveillance footages of Atlas Scientists studying the shield and another set on the sword at the top of the tower.

"Then it's settled, Pyrrha and I will head to the top of the tower, while Ren, Ruby and Nora head to the research lab and grab the shield. Unless you guys don't want to?" he said as Ruby shook her head.

"We'll get the shield Jaune, it is part of a set after all. And I can't stand the thought of any weapon being left behind," she said as she smiled at Ren and Nora. Jaune smiled back as he nodded.

"Alright everyone, this is going to be a bit tricky and no doubt Cobalt has put out a warrant for our arrest. We need to be careful and avoid any patrolling soldier we meet, Vale forces or other," Jaune said as he noticed his sister's soldiers still patrolling the city.

"I don't know if my sister has been informed of my absence yet? but if she has, I have no doubt she will do everything in her power to stop me. So be careful and good luck. Penny, take us in," he said as the ship lurched forward and began to land at the furthest edge of the City hiding within the forest that surrounded Vale.

The five grabbed their cloaks as the walked out and gazed upon the scarred city of Vale. Their gaze softened as they looked at the city they had once considered home.

To see it in its current state was heart-wrenching. But they had a mission to complete and they could not afford to let their feelings get the better of them. It took them no time to reach the city, managing to slip by the checkpoint thanks to a little distraction from Pyrrha's polarity throwing aside a few metal containers as they slip into the city. They soon walked the streets as they passed all the destruction that had wrought upon the city.

They quickly ducked around a corner as a group of Atlas soldiers passed them by. "We should probably split up, making it harder for any passing patrols to find us. Pyrrha and I will head to the market district, while you three make your way through the docks. Call if you encounter any trouble," he ordered as they nodded and then split off.

Pyrrha and Jaune moving silently through the streets as they passed by civilians and despots that now littered the city. Squads of Atlas and Vale troops patrolled the street while small numbers of Keir Arc men patrolled alongside them as they were cautious not to get noticed by them. Pyrrha had to use her semblance more than once to draw their attention away from them and slipping past unnoticed.

All they needed to do was to get to an Atlas supply ship that ferried supplies and troops from Beacon to Vale and ride it to the Academy.

"Okay, we're almost at the dropship. We just need to get past these guards and stowaway on the ship, that should get us to Beacon in time, you ready?" he asked as she nodded and prepared to move past the guards.

"Hey! What are you two doing here!?" someone called out as the blood in their veins froze as a Captain of Atlas spotted them. "This is a restricted area! No civilians allowed!" he called out as he moved towards them.

' _Damn it! So close!'_ they both thought as the man walked towards them.

If they were discovered now, the mission would be over and they would have Atlas soldiers over them in no time. But just as the man was about to reach them, a pair of arms were wrapped around their shoulders, as their hoods were drawn further over their faces.

"There you two are! Where have you been, I've been worried sick about you!" A familiar voice said as both looked up to see the smirking faces of.

 _'Coco! Cardin!?'_

They both thought as the older teen smirked at them. "Geez you two wondering off like that, I don't care if you went off for a lover's retreat, making out near an Atlas Depot is no place for a couple," Coco said with a grin as the two blushed.

"I apologise for my friends here, they just wanted to get away from everyone and be together. They didn't realise they were near the Supply Depot when they got here. You know us, young kids, these days. Always wanting to skip out on work to be with each other. I swear these two just have no self-control," he said as Jaune and Pyrrha swore steam was radiating off their heads.

The Captain stared for a bit before waving his hand. "I understand, I was a young man once when I was their age. Especially after everything that's happened, people need ways to vent. Just make sure they don't do it again," he said as Coco and Cardin nodded and began to drag them away.

"Thank you~" she called out as she dragged the two away, no sooner did they turn a corner did they pull them into an abandoned store as she quickly locked the door and turned to the two.

"Jaune, Pyrrha, is that really you?" Coco said as they both removed their hoods. Coco smiled as she quickly embraced the two, "It's so good to see you, what the hell are you two doing here?" she said as Cardin walked up to them.

"Last we heard you were still recovering back in your hometown, what are you doing all the way here in Vale?" he asked as Jaune and Pyrrha looked at each other. Coco noticed this as she narrowed her eyes at the pair.

"What is it you two are hiding?" she asked as

"It's...complicated," he said as Coco merely crossed her arms and glared at them.

"Try me,"

That night they told the two everything. From Jaune's meeting with the Council to the theft of the Phantom and the possibility of a traitor in Mistral. To say they were shocked was an understatement. They were absolutely horrified.

"...Oh, my God..." Coco said as she was forced to sit down, Cardin fairing no better as he backed himself into a wall, only to slid down as he tried to process everything he was just told.

"B-But, but how can that be? How could someone betray us like that?" he said as Jaune shook his head.

"I don't know, but that's what we're trying to figure out, so we're heading to Mistral to find the traitor. But first I need to retrieve my sword, it is a powerful weapon and I don't like how it's being kept under the watch of that Black-Ops Leader. Something about him just makes my skin crawl." He said as he peeked through the boards to see more troops patrolling the area, one of them holding a datapad with his image on its being discreetly handed out to the other soldiers.

"And it looks like Cobalt finally got the message, so we need a way to get into the school without drawing any attention." He said as he was about to leave before Cardin grabbed his arm.

"So, what, you planning to against the whole Atlas Military and the Council by yourself, even after everything you've been through?" he asked as Jaune looked back to the patrol and the back to Cardin as he nodded.

"Basically," he said as the taller teen looked at Coco who nodded and smirked as he crossed his arms.

"Then count us in, we're coming with you," she said as Jaune and Pyrrha looked shocked.

"What!?" they said, but low enough not to draw any attention.

"What, did you think we'd just let you go off to face some kind of world-ending-threat without involving us? Honestly, I am a little insulted," Coco said as she smirked at the pair. "Plus, with how Vale turned out, if Mistral were to fall, then we'd all be in some serious trouble." She said while Cardin nodded.

"Plus, we owe you, man. If you hadn't killed that Dragon, who knows what would have happened? We'll distract the guards, you just get to the school and grab your sword," he said as Jaune and Pyrrha looked shocked at the pair.

"You don't have to do that, we're fine doing this on our-" "there you go again," Cardin suddenly interrupted as Jaune looked at him.

"You're doing the same thing you did back when we were at school, back when I was blackmailing you for your transcripts, you're not accepting anybody's help. You think you have to do everything by yourself." He said as Jaune's eyes widened at this.

"Look, I'll admit I'm not the best when it comes to stuff like this, in fact, I was pretty much a scumbag when I think about it. But ever since you saved my life in the forest, I've come to respect you as a fellow huntsman. That respect only grew when you sacrificed yourself to save us, and I can't think of any way I can repay you," he said as he crossed his arms.

"That being said, I can't stand seeing you make the same mistake twice. Take it from me, what you are doing is wrong and will only lead to disaster. So, stop thinking that you need to do everything on your own and let your friends help you,"

Jaune was honestly shocked at the growth that Cardin had just shown. This was a far cry from the guy who used to bully him back at Beacon. This was someone who he could consider a friend.

"Are you guy's sure about this? I mean we'll basically be going against the entire Remnant Council, we'll basically be outlaws to them" he said as Coco placed her hand on her chin.

"Hmm, outlaws, I kind of like the idea. Has a nice ring to it, 'Coco the Outlaw'. Yeah, that sounds awesome," she said as Cardin nodded at this and crossed his arms in front of his chest.

"My family isn't going to like it, but lately I've been seeing that they were wrong about a lot of stuff. They're wrong about the Faunus, and they were wrong about helping others. So why not?" he said as Jaune still couldn't believe it.

"But, what about your teams? I mean you can't just leave them behind, are you?" he said as Coco then smirked and held up her scroll showing an image of Velvet's contact picture.

"We've been listening to you the whole time, and we want to help as well. We're on our way to meet Ruby and the others now. We can help them get into the school on our end, but getting out of the city will be a tough one," Velvet on the other line said as Ruby appeared on the screen.

"We just bumped into them on our way to the docks, they agreed to help us get into the school. Honestly, I think they are our best chance of getting into the school, I think we should accept their help," She said as Jaune looked over to Pyrrha who nodded.

"Alright, tell them to grab their things and head to the Phantom after they help you get to the school. I'm sending the coordinates for Spectre's location. Be careful okay, Atlas troops started handing out pictures of us to their men, so more than likely they're on to us. Watch yourself," he instructed as Ruby nodded on the other end.

"No problem, just make sure you get to the rendezvous point," she said as Jaune turned to the other two.

"Are sure about this? There is no turning back after this," he said as Coco nodded.

"We're with you guys all the way, you can't leave us out of all the fun, right?" she said as Cardin nodded and all four of them nodded. "Besides, feels like we'd be a waste of a character if we were left behind," she said as Jaune pulled out his scroll.

"Alright, Penny?" Jaune said on his scroll, "We've got a slight change of plans. Be ready to pick up both team CFVY and CRDL at these coordinates, they're tagging along with us," he said as Penny's holographic face appeared on the screen.

"Roger that Jaune, I will be ready to pick them up with the Spectre when they get you on the transports," Penny said as Coco leant over his shoulder.

"Whoa you weren't kidding, so she really is an A.I. now?" she said as Jaune rolled his eyes.

"I'll explain it later," he said as the four silently left the abandoned store.

The four moved silently towards the depot as they spotted the large ship as the work crew was just finishing up the final preparations to move out. The four nodded as Cardin got up and walked over to the men.

"Excuse me!" he called out as the men turned to him, "I was told that this would be the place to pick up some ammunition, can you tell me where they are?" he asked as the men looked confused.

"I think you are in the wrong place mate, this is the supply depot, not the armoury. You need to head back and head the other direction," he called out as they walked towards the boy.

While they were doing that, Coco was helping the two sneak onto the shuttle, she easily helped them into the shuttle just as the doors began to close. She gave the two a salute, as they returned the gesture just as the door closed. The shuttle then took off as it zoomed towards the school, Coco quickly signalled Cardin as he nodded subtly.

"Oh, wait, this is the East District, isn't it?" he asked as the guard growled in annoyance.

"No, this is the West District, the East District is where the Armoury is, now shove off kid!" the man said as Cardin nodded as Coco quietly slipped past them.

"Oh, well pardon me then, I'll just be heading off then," he said as he turned around and met up with Coco who was leaning on the side of a building.

"They get on alright?" he asked as she nodded. "Okay, then we better head to those coordinates Jaune gave us, we got to go before anyone realises what we've just done," he said as Coco nodded and they went off to meet their fellow teammates to head off to the Phantom.

* * *

Meanwhile – Ren, Ruby and Nora

* * *

Ruby, Ren and Nora had just arrived at the beacon Docks, as they quietly snuck out of the shuttle. Thanks to the assistance of the rest of CRDL and CFVY, distracting the guards. Which was surprising considering they never thought they would ever receive help from team CRDL of all teams. But after the Invasion, it seemed that the team had become disillusioned with the comfy lifestyle they used to live and now saw the larger picture.

"I still can't believe Cardin of all people wanted to help us?" Ruby said as they quietly snuck over to the large labs that were set up by the Atlas Black-Ops Division.

"War can change anyone it seems," Ren said as he swiped a key card from a guard and used it to unlock the labs.

The three quickly went inside as they instantly picked up the smell of antiseptics and cleaning agents in the air. The hallway they were in now was plastic tubing, as the research base was set up to analyse the school for what was left after the battle.

"Okay, Penny said that the shield is in Port's old classroom, which should be down this hall and to the left," Ruby said as she opened her scroll. "It also looks like the control centre for the Anti-Air defences is on the opposite side of the school. Most likely set up in Professor Goodwitch's arena," she said as she looked at the map.

"So, we need to split up, one of us goes after the shield, while the other heads to the control centre and power down the defences." Ren surmised as Ruby nodded.

"I'll head down to Port's class and grab the shield, you two head over to the control centre and upload the virus and knock out the defences. After that, we signal Jaune and Pyrrha and make our way to the extraction point," Ruby said as they nodded.

"What about the cameras? Won't they be able to see us and ID us after we steal the sword and shield?" Nora asked as suddenly Penny's face appeared on Ruby's scroll.

"The virus that I gave you should also wipe the cameras of all your activities so that there would be no way they could trace it back to you guy's," Penny said as Ren shrugged.

"Well that answers that question," he said as they all nodded and split up.

Ren and Nora heading to the control centre, while Ruby went off to Port's room. Ren and Nora silently snuck along the hallways as they passed what remained of Beacon Academy. To think that months ago this place was considered their home, a place where they felt accepted and part of something better than the life they used to live.

Seeing it in its current state brought the two a familiar sense of sadness as they both thought about the home that was destroyed long ago.

But right now, they had to focus and take down the defence if they wanted to stop whoever it was that planned to take over the world. They soon reached the control room as Ren quietly peeked his through the doorway as he noticed at least two guards were posted in the room, along with what looked like an officer manning the controls. Luckily, he seemed distracted as he had headphones on his head.

The pair nodded to each other as Ren silently snuck into the room.

Suddenly there was a knock on the door as both the guards looked at the door confused, "What in the?" one of them said as he moved over to check it out, opening the door wide to look down the hall, only to find no one there. But unbeknownst to him, Ren appeared behind his partner and had quickly knocked him out with a hit to the back of his head. The sound of his body hitting the floor drew his attention as he turned around to see his friend knocked out.

"What the-!" was all he managed to say before a tap on his shoulder caused him to turn around and see a smiling orange haired girl.

"Hi~!" she said before punching him straight in the face, knocking him out and landing next to his partner.

The two nodded as they turned to the officer, who had not noticed them as he kept rocking his head to the beats. Nora leant next to him as he suddenly noticed her presence and then looked back to the two knocked out guards.

His eyes then wandered to Ren and the alarm button. Nora noticed too, as she gestured him to press the button, which caused him more confused. He slowly reached for the button, only for his head to be slammed into the control panel and knocked him out.

"You enjoyed that, didn't you?" he asked as Nora only hummed in response and dragged the three men to the closet.

"Penny, we're at the control room, I'm ready to upload the virus, are Jaune and Pyrrha ready yet?" he asked as he set his scroll into the jack and began to hack the system.

"We're almost there Ren, we just had to deal with a few guards, but we have a clear shot to the elevator. How's going on your end?" he asked as Ren turned around to see Nora shoving the unconscious men into the closet and shutting the door.

"It's in the bag," he said as switched frequencies, "Ruby, how are you doing?" he asked as Ruby was silently sneaking her way into the labs.

"I've almost reached the shield, there were a few guards, but I managed to 'convince them' to let me into the lab," Ruby said as she looked to her left and to the men who were unconscious or semi-conscious on the ground on the ground.

"How was that convincing?" one of the ground said before passing out as Ruby apologised.

* * *

Meanwhile at the Tower – Jaune and Pyrrha

* * *

Jaune nodded as they reached the elevator to the top of the tower. There had been a few guards posted near the entrance, which unfortunately meant they had to fight them to get past. Pyrrha had moved with speed and grace as she quickly and effortlessly dealt with the guards. Her spear looping under their arms, forcing them to the floor, while Jaune to knocked them out with a quick thrust of Pyrrha's shield, seeing as his weapon was broken and his original was up in the tower.

With the guards dealt with he pressed the button and started ascending to the top floor.

"Okay, we're in the elevator. Ren, release the virus," Jaune said as he got a confirmation from Ren as he uploaded the virus into the system, wiping it of all data on them and shutting down the defence systems temporarily.

The ride up to the top was long and quiet as Jaune and Pyrrha stood in absolute silence. None knew what to say to each other as they went up to the place that had changed both their lives forever and not in the best of ways.

The elevator soon opened as Pyrrha quickly aimed her rifle around looking for any guards. But it seemed the scientist were on break as the room was completely deserted. They walked into the room as Jaune looked around at the damage that had been caused.

The walls and windows had been replaced with temporary fixes and the roof was fully repaired to get the CCT tower operational again. But the floor still bared the scars and cracks from their battle as large beams of steel and iron reinforced the structure of the tower. There were diagnostic equipment and machinery scattered around the room as they seemed to be focused on one object...

...Crocea Mors, the Ancient Blade of the Arcs and the weapon that slew a Maiden...

Jaune felt his heartbeat increase as his mind flashed back to the battle on top of this tower five months ago. He looked over to where Cinder had pinned his chest to the Pillar while gazing over at the floor that was stained with scorched blood where he stabbed her in the chest.

Being here again was too much for the boy, as he could have sworn he saw the Grimm Dragon peering over him as its six blood red eyes glared into his soul and the feeling of pain and agony coursing through his chest. And the horrifying look of Cinder's enraged eyes glaring into him as her burnt corpse was slowly limping towards him.

Suddenly he felt a hand on his arm as he turned to see a concerned Pyrrha as she saw the boy had been lost in his own mind.

"Jaune, are you okay?" she said as Jaune looked around to see where he was.

"Y-yeah, I'm okay...it's just a little...odd, being back here." He said as he placed a hand on his stomach, his fingers brushing along the scar hidden under his hoodie as he breathed a calming breath.

"I can still feel where she pierced my chest and crushed my stomach. It feels like my scars are burning just standing here," he said as Pyrrha had a look of worry and sadness as she could only imagine what he was going through. He then shook it off as he turned to her.

"But I'm fine. Let's just get the sword and get out of here", he said as he walked over to the sword as Pyrrha only looked on with worry etched on her chest.

Jaune stood before the blade as he stared down at the burnt blue leather of the handle, the stress marks on the guard and the chips and cracks running all along the steel that was covered with black soot that stained the blade to an almost pitch black. But to see the blade again somehow brought a strange warmth and comfort as he smiled down.

"Sorry I'm late," he said as he reached out and grasped the handle.

The blade suddenly began to vibrate and glow as glyphs and runes appeared all over the blade. Jaune instantly lets go of the sword as the glow died down and he stared at the blade and then at his hand. Looking back to Pyrrha, she was just as confused as too looked at the boy and his blade.

"Jaune!?" Ruby's voice suddenly called out as Pyrrha answered her scroll. "Something weird just happened to the shield! It started glowing and vibrating that I had to drop it, what's going on up there?" Jaune, however, drowned out the concern as he focused on the blade and grasped its handle tight.

The light returned as the symbol and glyphs shone brighter within the room, its light shining out into the darkness that all those in the city could not help but stop and stare in awe. Glynda, Blue and Ironwood quickly exited their tent as they stare up at the light that shone from the tower.

"What in blazes!?" Ironwood said as Bleu and Glynda looked concerned as all three quickly ran to the shuttle. While high in the tower in the centre of the light Pyrrha shielded her eyes from the bright light, while Ruby had to drop the shield as it too glowed with an intense and powerful light.

Jaune, on the other hand, could only stare at the bright light as he pulled the sword free from the stone and held it above his head just as a large pulse blasted throughout the entire tower. When the light started to die down, Jaune and Pyrrha started in awe as the blade in Jaune's hand slowly began to change as the black soot burned away to reveal a clean white blade with an intricate handguard and a brand-new leather handle.

The blade was repaired to an almost pristine shine with a new design that Jaune couldn't help but admire as he held the blade in his hand. Ruby at the same time could only stare as she observed the shield that had changed before her eyes that looked cleaner, sharper and accented with a golden edge.

"Jaune?" Pyrrha asked as the boy was lost in the reflection of his blade, "Are you alright?" she asked as Jaune snapped out of his trance and looked at her.

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine. Come on, there's no way they missed that. Ruby, Ren head to the extraction point, Pyrrha and I will be there soon," Jaune said as he sheathed the blade to his belt. No sooner did he say that did the elevator open and a squad of Atlas Black-Ops soldiers stormed out and pointed their rifles at the pair.

"Or not," he said as Pyrrha drew her own rifle while Jaune held up his blade and pointed it at the men.

"Freeze! You have nowhere to go!" the captain said as they aimed their rifles at the pair. Jaune's mind was buzzing with ideas as he tried to think of a way to get past these men and make it to the extraction point. His eyes then wandered out to the multiple cranes that surrounded the tower as he looked at them and his partner as he got an idea.

Not a very good one, but at this point, he would take anything.

"Hey, Pyrrha,"

"Yes, Jaune?"

"You trust me, right?" she gave him a look that made it clear she was unsure.

"That's debatable right now, but yes, why?" she asked as the boy gestured to the window and she instantly got a general idea.

"Do you think you think you can do it?"

"No,"

"Good enough," Jaune said as he and Pyrrha raised their hands in surrender, allowing the soldiers to get closer to them. But what they didn't notice was the slight shaking of the diagnostic equipment behind them as Pyrrha's hand began to glow with her semblance. And just as they got close to the teens, Jaune turned to Pyrrha as he nodded.

"NOW!" Jaune yelled as Pyrrha thrust her arms backwards and the machines were sent flying through the soldiers. The machines continued to fly right past the pair as they compete smashed the window and allowed a huge gust of wind to blow them off their feet, while Jaune and Pyrrha turned to each other.

"Go!" Jaune ordered as he and Pyrrha ran for the hole.

"Stop them!" the Captain said as he and his men began to fire at the teens. But it was already too late as Jaune and Pyrrha jumped out of the window and briefly soared into the air before gravity took control and they began to plummet to the ground.

"Pyrrha! Girder!" Jaune yelled as Pyrrha used her semblance to pull a girder hanging from one of the construction cranes and moved it directly into their path. The both grabbed onto the girder as they hung vicariously off the steel beam. Both teens held on for dear life as the crane's cable swung back into its original position, all while the two screamed in fright.

"Jaune!" Pyrrha screamed.

"Yes, Pyrrha!?" he yelled back.

"You're insane!" he nodded.

"I know!"

The soldiers looked out the window as they spotted the teens hanging off the girder. "There they are! Open fire!" the Captain said as each of the men began to shoot at the teens. Bullets ricocheted or deflected off the steel beam as Jaune and Pyrrha managed to pull themselves up onto the beam as Pyrrha placed her shield in front of them blocking any incoming bullets.

"What now!?" Pyrrha yelled as Jaune pointed up to the cable mechanism.

"Can you hit that?" he asked as she nodded. "Good because you are going to slow it down with your semblance afterwards!" he said as she nodded and handed him her shield.

"Cover me!" she said as Jaune held the shield and protected her from the incoming barrage of bullets.

Pyrrha peered through the sights of her rifle as she carefully aimed at the mechanism that controlled the crane's cable. With a squeeze of the trigger, the bullet flew out of the chamber and struck the mechanism, causing it to spark and sputter. The cable slowly became loose as Jaune and Pyrrha instantly grabbed hold of the cable.

"Hold on!" Pyrrha said as the mechanism suddenly came loose and the girder started to descend rapidly towards the ground.

Jaune and Pyrrha holding for dear life as the ground came closer and closer to the pair. Pyrrha flooding the cable with her semblance as the entire cable began to glow with the strange dark matter. And just before they struck the ground, the cable went taut as they stopped a mere inch off the ground. Jaune and Pyrrha looked around as they looked to the tower and the ground.

"Wow, I can't believe that actually worked?" Jaune said as they let go of the girder.

"Come on, we have to go!" Pyrrha said as they began to run away from the tower.

"Jaune! Pyrrha!" they heard as Ruby, Ren and Nora came running up beside them.

"Guy's! You made it! Did you shut off the defences?" Jaune asked as Ren nodded while running.

"Yes, Penny can come in with the Spectre now," he said as Jaune nodded and they continued to run towards the Beacon Cliffs.

"Penny, bring the Spectre in now!" he said into his scroll as Penny nodded and began to send the Spectre towards the four.

"Here's you shield Jaune!" Ruby said as she threw him the shield as the boy nodded.

"Thanks' Ruby," Jaune said as he sheathed the blade and placed it on his belt. The four continued to run before they stopped just at the edge of the cliffs as they looked out onto the vast view of the Emerald Forest.

"Okay, Penny should be with the spectre, we just have to hold them off until-"

"Jaune!" a voice cried out as all four turned to see Bleu Arc, Glynda Goodwitch and General Ironwood along with a squad of Atlas troops as they stopped before the teens. "Jaune, what in the seven hells are you doing here!?" Bleu said, "You should be back at Keir Arc, recovering from your injuries, why are you..." she stopped as she spotted the blade at his waist.

"Is that?" Jaune nodded as he placed his hand on the blade and stood before his sister. "Jaune, what are you doing? What's going on here?" she asked as Jaune sighed.

"Sis, I'm sorry, but I have to do this. The Council...The Council believes that this whole thing is over, that this plot died with Cinder and that the White Fang are still responsible for this catastrophe. But I know that's not true, I know that whoever was behind all this is still out there. And if they aren't going to do anything to stop what's going to happen, then I must. There is no other way," he said as Glynda then stood before him.

"Mister Arc, we know what you're going through and we know that Cinder wasn't alone in this attack. We understand this thing better than anyone. But the fact is there is nothing that can be done. The lead died with her and there is no way to find who was responsible. And even if the White Fang were set up, they still participated in the attack, and they must be brought to justice. You have to trust the council's decision," she said as Jaune shook his head.

"You don't understand, there's more going on than you could possibly know, more than what the council possibly knows and you haven't even realised it yet..." Jaune sighed as he looked at them. "We believe that there is a traitor hiding in Mistral, somewhere at Haven Academy, someone who gave Cinder access to our systems," Glynda and Ironwoods eyes widened in shock.

"What!? That's preposterous!? How could there be a traitor at Haven! You must be mistaken!" Glynda said as Jaune shook his head as Ren stepped forward.

"It's true, Penny even confirmed it. Someone in Mistral helped Cinder attack us and gave her the tools to hurt us," Ren said as Ironwoods eyes widened at this.

"Penny? She's still alive?" he said as Ruby nodded.

"General Cobalt was holding her body at his facility on Vytal Island. He had been holding her there for months, not knowing that she was still alive," she said as Ironwood was shocked to hear this, feeling angry that his network had not informed him of this. "She found evidence that supports Jaune's claims, the virus originated in Mistral at Haven Academy," Ruby said as Jaune stepped forward.

"That's why we must head to Mistral immediately, find out who this traitor is and bring them to justice. It's the only way to ensure this doesn't happen again," Jaune said as Glynda stepped up.

"Mister Arc, this is crazy! You can't just march up to Mistral and start accusing people of treason. Tensions between the Four Kingdoms are already fragile at best. If you go there and accuse someone of importance, you could start an international incident with whole other country. You could plunge Vale into another Great War! Is that what you want!?" she said as the other looked to Jaune as he shook his head.

"We're already at War...just none of you seem to care to stop it,"

Before anyone could say anything in response, a large shuttle appeared behind them. The shuttle was sleek in design and appeared to be painted in full black with soft glowing green lines surrounding the engine and the cockpit. The shuttle doors opened as Coco and Cardin stood in the doorway.

"Come on! We've got to go!" Coco yelled as the others nodded as they sprinted towards the shuttle.

"Stop them! Open fire!" the captain said as Ironwood spun around.

"No! Wait!" he said all too late as the men began to fire on the teens. But Coco already responded as she started shooting at the ground before them, as the men and teachers had no choice but dodged out of the way.

Meanwhile, Jaune and the others managed to jump into the shuttle, while Cardin helped them in. But just as the door was about to close, Jaune looked back one last time to his sister as she could only stare in shock at the boy.

"I'm sorry..." he said before the shuttle door closed and the ship began to blast off.

The teachers and Arc could only stare at the small shuttle flew further and further away from them. They had no words to say as they looked at each other, still pondering what the boy meant. Was there really a traitor in Mistral? Could they have been betrayed by someone they knew? And if so...

Then who?

Machine gun fire littering the air as the small shuttle ducked and weaved away from the hail of bullets. "Shit! Hold on!" Jaune said as the shuttle rocked and shook from attacks. Small flares shooting out of the shuttle as they attempted to evade the fighter jets.

"Penny! Is the Phantom in the air yet!" he yelled as an image of Penny appeared on his scroll.

"Affirmative, opening the cargo hold now," she said as the Phantom suddenly de-cloaked and appeared before the shuttle and the startled fighters, who only just managed to evade the airship. The shuttle quickly entered the cargo hold as it scraped across the metal floor.

The Phantom started to turn around as the fighters focused on the ship. "Command, we have the target in sight, permission to engage?" he said as the targeting system focused on the ship

"Delay that order soldier, allow the ship to leave," Cobalt suddenly said as the pilot looked confused.

"Sir?"

"That is a direct order, soldier. Return to base immediately," he said as the pilot could only nod and turned his ship around.

"Yes sir," he said as he turned his ship and all other fighters back to Vale.

The Phantom's main engines then ignited as they blasted away at high speeds from Vale. Jaune and the others quickly left the shuttle as they quickly ran to the command bridge. He instantly stood in front of the holomap as he began to search for any incoming threats.

"Penny, are we still being chased?" Jaune said as he expected to see more fighters after them.

"Negative, I detect no other aircraft in the immediate area. There are no pursuing ships after us," she said as Jaune and the others looked confused.

"What? But why wouldn't they be pursuing us?" he asked as he looked and saw the fighters turning away on the holomap. "Why are they turning away?" he asked as Cardin shrugged.

"Who cares, we got away, that's the main thing," he said as Jaune turned around to see the rest of the team assembled in the command bridge.

"Still, it doesn't make any sense, why would they just suddenly break off their attack like that? They could have easily taken us out by now?" Pyrrha said as Jaune shrugged his shoulders.

"I don't know, but something tells me it's not good..." Jaune said as he watched them go further and further away from Beacon. "In any case, it's good to see you all again," he said as he stood before the assembled teams.

"Likewise, Arc, it is good to see you again," Fox said as Yatsuhashi bowed slightly to the boy.

"Yeah, it's good to see you too mate," Russell said as he stood by his team. "So, you stole this ship?" he said as he looked over the ship. "It's a very nice ship," he said as Penny's hologram appeared.

"Why thank you," she said as the boy jumped back and screamed like a little girl. "Oops, I am sorry. I did not mean to frighten you," she said as Russell was somehow in Fox's arms, who looked at the boy and then dropped him on the floor.

"No, no I'm cool," he said as the others rolled their eyes at him.

"I'm glad to see you are better Jaune," Velvet said as she shook his hand. "I never got to say thank you for saving us from that monster," she said as Jaune nodded.

"Thanks, Velvet. But are you sure you guys want to do this? I mean we are basically wanted by the Atlas Government now," he said as the others nodded.

"We're sure Arc, whoever was behind the attack on Beacon targeted all of us. They have to be stopped," Coco said as she punched her fist to her palm. "Besides, I want to find that little thief who messed with my head during the tournament. I want a rematch with her," she said as her team stood behind her.

"And where Coco goes, we are bound to follow," Fox said as the blind teen crossed his arms.

"And you can't go anywhere without the best team in the world," Cardin said as he beamed with pride.

"Team RWBY?" Russel said as Cardin glared at him. "Oh, you meant us. Sorry," he said as Dove and Sky rolled their eyes.

"Idiot," they said as Russell hung his head.

Pyrrha then stood beside Jaune as she folded her arms. "Well, it looks like we've assembled quite the team," she said as she turned to Jaune. "What do we do first?" she asked as Jaune looked towards all his friends as they now looked to him for guidance. He then looked down at his sword as the new blade weighed heavily on his belt. He then looked up as a confident look shone in his eyes.

"Penny, set a course for Anima," he said as the ship began to turn. "Let's find us a traitor..." he said as the ship blasted off towards their destination. All the while a man with black hair, red eyes watched from the treetops as he held a tracker in his hand before he morphed into a bird and flew after the teens.

* * *

The Dauntless – Cobalt Command Ship

* * *

Cobalt looked out from his command ship as he watched the stealth ship blast off into the unknown. "Sir, why did you allow the fugitives to escape with the Phantom? Doctor Armstrong was very adamant on retrieving the ship," an officer asked as the man shook his head.

"Armstrong is just annoyed that children stole his project from right under him, he will follow my orders and understand my reasoning soon enough."

He said as the officer looked confused, "And what of the Atlas Council? If they find out that the ship had been stolen, they would have you charged with incompetence?" he said as the man waved his hand.

"The Council Is filled with nothing but blowhards with too much time on their hands, if any of them ask, just tell them it's being training exercise to test its systems. But make sure that any news of the Phantom is intercepted before it reaches the Remnant Council. We still cannot have them know what we were up to," He ordered as the officer nodded.

"As you wish Sir, but what of the boy? He took the sword from right under our noses. Are we going to attempt to retrieve it?" he asked as the man shook his head.

"No, I highly doubt anyone, apart from Mister Arc, can wield a weapon of that magnitude. It would be better off in his hands, for now at least. Besides, I rather admire Mister Arc's dedication and will. He would be the perfect soldier if he were to join us. And he is right, after all, if the Council is unwilling to do what is necessary, then it falls to men like us to do what they cannot." He said as he looked out onto the city.

"A War is coming, and Atlas will not fall to the same Arrogance and Pride that led to Vale Destruction. Ozpin may have failed in protecting his City, but I will not. We are Atlas, the most technologically advance Kingdom in all of Remnant. We will not fall to this enemy that lurks in shadows, we will be the ones to bring them to the light..." he looked down as he gripped his gloved hand tight.

"By any means necessary," he said as he smirked at the rising sun over the mountain. The future of Atlas bright in his future, but paved with dark intentions.

All the while a small boy with brown hair and yellow-green eyes awaken in shock.

* * *

 **And Scene, well here is Chapter IX of The Remnant Knight. So yeah, I updated this story a bit quicker. I just graduated from UNI so I should have more time on my hands to write my favourite fanfics. And a recap, I am looking for someone to write reaction fics for my stories, Restart, The Remnant Knight and any other story that you fancy. I give full permission to anyone who wants to use it, so long as you mention my name and where you found the story.**

 **I wanted to include CRDL and CFVY because I feel they need more love than what they got in the show. I'm sure they'll show up later, but this is m story so I'll add them. Coco is cool and I like how their team is older but just as inexperienced as they are. Team RWBY will take a while to reform because I kind of like to follow the show canonical, but with different outtakes.  
**

 **So now that Jaune has retrieved his sword, they head towards Mistral to confront the traitor and bring him to justice. But can they do so and not cause an international incident that will plunge the world into chaos? Find out in next time in...  
**

 **Chapter X: The Geist of Anima**


	10. Chapter X: The Geist of Anima

RWBY: The Remnant Knight

There are many paths in life, some that are set in stone and some that are in a state of flux...then there are the ones that defy the course of fate. This is one such path where destiny is defied and the path of a Knight is forged in blood, steel and magic. This is the Rise of the Remnant Knight.

* * *

Chapter X: The Geist of Anima

* * *

Deep within the forest of Anima, surrounded by the trees and wildlife of nature stood a small village called Takefu a small smithing village hidden within the depths of the Anima Forest.

The town was small, had few citizens known for their smiths and craftsmen. But aside from that it was a peaceful life, with few bandit attacks and a relatively calm environment.

Lately, however, the village had been having some troubles with a small Grimm problem that had been hounding them for weeks. A Grimm called a Geist, a phantom-like Grimm that had no corporeal body and usually had to take over inanimate objects to attack people. And unfortunately for the town, the closest Huntsman was all the way in Mistral and they barely got any service out this far - even with the CCT tower full operational.

Luckily for them, a travelling group of teens stopped by the town and offered to take care of the Grimm for them. In exchange, the local Smith would help them forge new armour and weapons for the group. The mayor agreed and the group split into two groups, one to look after the town, while the other went to fight the Grimm.

"Ah...so bored..." Russell said as he leant against a fence. "Why are we the ones guarding the village, when we could be fighting off the Geist?" he asked as he and the others stood around him.

"Because, if the hunting party fails to stop the Geist, it's up to us to stop it. It's the only way we can assure that the Geist doesn't get into the village. Besides, it was more logical to send the stronger members of our group to kill the Grimm while we stayed behind. No need to exhaust all of us against one Grimm," Velvet said as Russel groaned.

"Still, I would rather be fighting a Grimm than just sitting around here," Coco said as she sat on a stump while filing her nails.

The Team that was left to guard the village was Fox, Dove, Velvet, Russell, Sky and Coco as they were the best choice to guard the village. While Jaune, Ruby, Pyrrha, Ren, Nora, Cardin and Yatsuhashi went out to fight the Grimm.

"Well, why the hell did Jaune go with them? Isn't he still like, injured or something?" Dove asked as Fox turned to him.

"Jaune had to go because it was part of the deal we made with Mayor. He helps fight the Geist, he gets the new armour the blacksmith is making. We were lucky to upgrade our gear before we left Vale. Jaune and others, on the other hand, still needed to get some new equipment. This is the only way," he said as Russell sighed and started to twirl the dagger in his hand.

"I hope they're having more fun than we are?" he said as he cast a bored gaze to the forest.

* * *

Meanwhile with the Hunting Party

* * *

Small amounts of leaves fluttered down to the ground as the sounds of small animals and critters resonated in the peaceful forest. The trees stretching high into the sky, as small amounts of light shone through the gaps in the canopy. Beneath the Canopy stood Ren and Nora as the stood in the middle of the forest.

"I still say we need a new Team name. Like, JNPRRCFVYCRDL? It's got all our team names mashed in together, just like how we are all mashed together," Nora said as she seemed to be pointing to the words floating in the air.

"Putting all our team names together like that is just gibberish, we need a name that is a colour and has to mean something. Like..." he thought for a moment and pointed to some floating words.

"Spectrum, it's based off the Light Spectrum, that is made of every colour and it fits with how we are all named after a different colour," he said as Nora shook her head.

"What are we a Dust Band? JNPRRCFYCRDL is way better," she said as the boy shook his head.

"No Spectrum is better,"

"Guy's," Jaune said as he looked back at them. "We need to stay focused, Ruby should be here any minute with the Grimm, so we need to stay sharp...Plus, I think Nora might be on to something," Nora nodded her head while Ren rolled his eyes.

Jaune then placed a finger to his neck. "Pyrrha, you guy's in position?" he spoke into a radio they salvaged on the Phantom, as he looked over to the other side of the clearing as Pyrrha nodded.

"We're all set here Jaune, we're just waiting on Ruby," she said as Yatsuhashi was sharpening his blade while Cardin leant on a tree.

"Hey Arc, how come you just don't go full armour mode like you did in the invasion or use your sword and waste this Grimm? Why do we have to lure it into a trap?" he asked as Jaune shook his head.

"I can't control my semblance like I did during the invasion, that was just a one-time deal when I fought against Cinder. I need more time before I can master it. And Crocea needs time to draw in energy and I have no idea how to make it transform. That would just give the Geist more time to attack the village, time we cannot afford to give. This is the only way," he said as he nodded.

Suddenly the sound of trees falling drew their attention as they looked up to the cliff as birds quickly flew away in a hurry. They instantly knew what that meant as they all drew their weapons.

"It's here get ready," they crouched down and hid in the bushes.

The ground beneath their feet started to rumble as a red blur shot out of the trees as Ruby Rose fired her rifle at a large monster made of stone that chased her. Briefly, the two stayed in mid-air before gravity took control and they plummeted to the ground. Ruby using her speed and semblance to latch onto a tree branch while the stone monster slammed into the earth.

The Dust slowly settled as large being made of stone slowly rose from the earth. The stone being was made mostly of large boulders that somehow managed to stay together, with what looked like a bone mask in the centre of the being.

This was known as Petra Gigas, a Geist that had managed to possess inanimate objects and fashioned itself a body. The stone giant roared as Jaune nodded and drew his sword from his waist.

"Cardin! Now!" Cardin burst out of the Forest and slammed his mace into the ground. A large blast of fire shot across the ground as it struck the golem's legs, causing it to topple onto its hands.

"Yatsuhashi! Go for the arm, Nora you go for the other!" he ordered as both Nora and Yatsuhashi charged.

Nora striking her hammer against the stone arm, while Yatsuhashi sliced his blade across its other arm. The Petra Gigas roared as it batted away the two Hunters as Ren dashed towards the beast. The monster slamming his arm into the boy's path, only for Ren to jump on its arm and fired rapid shots at its face. But the Petra Gigas instead protected its face, as the bullets bounced harmlessly off its rocky exterior.

It then managed to swipe at the boy, only for him to dodge as a swirl of petals begins to dart around him. Loud cracks of a sniper rifle ring out into the forest, as Ruby uses her weapon loaded with electric dust to fire at the large stone beast.

"Could use a little help here guys!" she says and quickly darts away. Jaune charges at the beast as he slashes his blade against the back of the creature's leg, causing the beast to turn to him. Only for rifle shots to bounce off its back as Pyrrha runs around and shot at its back.

The Creature was about to strike her when Nora, with her weapon transformed into its hammer form, slams into the creature's arm and breaks it into pieces.

"Yes!" she says as the creature looks at the missing limb as an elongated arm with claw-like fingers emerges. But then the arm reaches out and places itself in a tree as the creature now has a new arm.

"No!" the Petra swings the arm and slams her away. But Ren manages to catch her as they land a little back from the battle.

"It's arm is a tree!" Jaune yelled as the beast looks at him and then roars as it swipes its arm across the ground, sending the boy up into the air. "Uhhhh!" Jaune says in mid-air, as the beast is ready to crush the boy, had a spear not snagged his red hoodie and sent him into a tree but luckily was not too high off the ground.

"Thank you!" Jaune say's as the spear then flings back to Pyrrha as she waves.

"I'm sorry!" she said but then rolled out of the way as Ruby stops on a branch and looks at the arm.

"Big mistake buddy!" she says as she reaches behind her back and pulls out a cartridge with a fire symbol on its as she loads it into her rifle. She cocks back the rifle as she charges at the best, bullets flying out of the barrel as the ammo strikes the wooden arm and sets it on fire.

"Yes! Way to go Ruby!" Jaune said as he thought the arm was done for. Only for the beast to now have an arm on fire. "Oh crap! Big Mistake! Big Mistake!" he yelled as he ran from the now flaming limb. But shots from both Ren, Pyrrha and Nora manage to disorient it as the creature stumbles back.

"Okay, how do we defeat this thing?" Cardin asks as he leans on one knee. "Because this thing is way too tough," he said as the others gathered up.

"There has to be a way to beat it?" Jaune said as he thought about the creature.

"His body is too thick to break through," Ren said as Jaune shook his head.

"It doesn't care about its body," Jaune said as he remembered the creature shrugged off any attacks to its body.

"Plus, it can keep grabbing new limbs!" Nora said as Jaune shakes his head.

"But it keeps protecting its face," he said as he concentrated on the creature.

"We can't break it!" Ruby said as Pyrrha shook her head.

"There has to be a way?" she said as Yatsuhashi looks at the beast.

"Nothing is unbeatable, every enemy has a weakness. We simply need to find one," he said as Jaune groaned.

"Urgh, if we knocked all of its limbs off at once and went for the-!" Jaune's eyes light up with an idea and he turns to face his team. Behind him, the Grimm gets up. "Guys, I got it! We hit it harder!" he said as they all stared at him.

"Isn't that what we've already been doing?" Cardin asks as Jaune shakes his head.

"No, think about it, this entire time it hasn't bothered to protect its body, only its face. You know, where the mask is. I think that is where the real body is. So, if we attack all at once, break its limbs off, then it will be forced to retreat! Then Ruby can hit the real thing and finish it off!" he said as they all nodded.

"Okay, let's do this!" Ruby said as they all nodded and got read.

"Cardin, Yatsuhashi, go for the legs! Pyrrha, Ren, aim for the arms! Nora, did you manage to get that upgrade from the ship installed?" he asked as the girl nodded. "Good, then be ready. Ruby, you know what to do," he said as she nods and cocks back her rifle.

"Okay, everyone! Let's go!" he yells as they all charge at the beast, while Nora stays behind and grips her hammer tight.

Cardin and Yatsuhashi yell as they charge to the being, just as the creature is about to brush them aside when sniper rounds blast off its body as a red blur shot around the beast. Cardin and Yatsuhashi weapons making large impacts on the creature as it roars in pain. Ren and Pyrrha constantly firing at the arms as they run around the creature. Jaune even managing to get a few blows in as he slashes his sword against its back legs.

Meanwhile, Nora is holding her weapon as small pink sparks travel from her hands and into Magnhild, as she braces her feet. "Ready!" she calls out as Ruby nods and then zooms back and lands at a distance from the battle.

She breathes in a calm breath, as she leans back into a sprinting stance and rockets forward at high speeds. She grabs Nora midway as they speed towards the Grimm. A spiral of red and pink swirling towards the Grimm as Ruby slashes the tree arm in half and sending Nora flying towards the Grimm. She slams her hammer into its face as its body literally exploding into rubble as pieces of the Petra Gigas fall to the forest floor.

Emerging from the largest piece was a phantom-like creature, a black figure with bone-like spikes on its back, ribs and long skeleton-like forearms with sharp fingernails. Its ghostly appearance lacked a lower body and instead floated through the air while leaving behind a black smoke trail. Its face consisted of Grimm markings on a mask-like bone plate with a single eye.

The spectre began to float away, as Ruby peered down the end of her scope. And with a squeeze of her finger, the sniper fired as birds flew away from the sound as everything was silent.

The others stood side by side as they watched the Grimm fall to the forest floor, its ghostly image slowly fading as it soon ceased to exist. Jaune smiled as he placed his hands on his hips.

"Another victory for Team JNPRRCFVYCRDL...No, no, you were right Ren, that was bad. It's just not working anymore," Nora sulked while kicking a small pebble.

"Well, guess we should head back to the village and report this?" Cardin said as he placed his Mace back on his back. Jaune nodded as he reached into his back pocket.

"Guess, I need to get back into character?" he took a roll of bandages and started tying them around his face. The bandages covering most of his head, with the only places visible were his eyes and mouth.

It was a necessary disguise to hide his features in case his family was looking for him and Penny had been picking up chatter from underground networks about Keir Arc informants inquiring about Jaune. It seemed that they finally noticed his escape after the first 24 hours and from being informed by his Sister, Bleu Arc. The Arc's had a rather extensive network that spanned most of the world, no doubt his parents would be using it to track him down.

Luckily, they had yet to find him.

It had been over a week since Jaune and the others had broken into a secure Black-Ops headquarters, stole a highly classified stealth ship and recovered his sword from Vale. Their escape was not as subtly as everyone thought it was, as the citizens wondered what that strange light over the Beacon tower was, and why Atlas fighter jets were pursuing a small vessel.

Cobalt had managed to assure the Council that it was nothing serious and were just testing a new warning system that would alert the city of incoming Grimm attacks. Ironwood wanted to dispute these claims but was ordered not to by the Atlas Council, because somehow General Cobalt managed to outrank him now in the Military.

So, with no other choice, Ironwood returned to Atlas to oversee the Dust embargo that would be placed on the Schnee corporation - something that Jacques Schnee did not take too kindly.

So, for the time being, it seemed like the Atlas Government was not on their tails.

However, if their suspicions were correct and there was a traitor in Mistral, then there was no doubt that the traitor would have his own network looking for them. From what they understood, the traitor had high-level access to the system. High enough to allow Cinder and her allies to enrol as official students from Haven Academy, as well as give her the encryption keys to plant the virus into the system and knew exactly where to hit them.

The only way any of that could have been done was by an inside man - Who could just as easily catch wind of their identities and proclaim them as traitors instead.

So, they had to be cautious as they travelled, stopping every two days to park and avoid any suspicions and restock on supplies. And while they now possessed a new stealth ship, Penny was still learning the new inner workings of her new vessel, as she was not as fully integrated into the system as she thought she was.

An example being nearly overloading the ship's engines just to cross the ocean. So, they also had to take it slow as not to overtax her and allow her to fully integrate into the system while taking the long route to Mistral.

They parked just a short distance from this small town, where they decided it was time for Team JNPR to upgrade their gear.

Problem was, they had little money to spend and Jaune was sure that his parents had frozen his accounts or would use them to track him down. So, they struck a deal with the Mayor of the town - who had been having problems with the Geist for weeks. They took out the Grimm that was terrorising them in exchange for new armour and gear.

It was a simple solution and an easy way to afford new gear.

The only thing Jaune didn't like was how stuffy the bandages got covering his face. "I really regret having my face plastered like that over the entire CCT net," Jaune said as he finished bandaging his face.

"I know Jaune, but this is the only way no one will recognise you. I promise it won't be for long, Velvet just texted us and informed the Mayor we've done the job, but we need to head back to confirm with him in person," Pyrrha said as Jaune nodded.

"Okay, let's do this," he said as they all left the forest. Never noticing the small crow perched on a branch as it eyed the group and then flew off into the distance.

* * *

Later – Takefu Village

* * *

Ruby was shaking the Mayor's hand as the man smiled at the group, "We cannot thank you enough for defeating that creature. That Geist had been plaguing us for weeks, it is good to know that we won't have to relocate as he feared we would," the man said as Ruby nodded.

"We were just doing our jobs sir, but we can help you get to Mistral if you wanted? We have a ship-ah... we know a vessel that can get you to Mistral if you wanted. It doesn't have a lot of extra space, but we can get you there in a couple of trips?" Ruby said as Nora managed to stop her from saying the fact that they had a ship, but the Mayor just shook his head.

"Ha, I take it you're not from these parts?" he said as he gestured to the people.

"Anima is a large continent but I'm afraid our people would never survive the long trek to Mistral - even if we used a vessel to transport there. It may be safer in the Kingdoms, but we prefer our way of life. We have worked hard for this place, and we are not so willing to give it up just yet," they nodded at the man as Ren understood more than most.

"I just wish we could pay you more?" he said as Ren shook his head.

"Our previous arrangement is more sufficient, thank you for the offer though," Ren said as they all bowed respectively to the man.

* * *

Later at the Blacksmith's

* * *

It wasn't long until they were at the Blacksmith as the man placed a large wooden chest on the counter. "The armour is a little heavier than what you're used to, but it should be easier to move around in, just like you requested. I also managed to get the seamstress to make those new clothes you requested, light but tough, she knows how to make good clothes."

"And it wasn't easy getting earth dust since that Embargo was placed, but I have my resources, which should go well with those new additions to your weapons like you requested, should keep you alive longer than most," the blacksmith said, a man who was Faunus by nature with two horns growing out of his head, as Pyrrha nodded and inspected her weapons that were polished to a new sheen.

Jaune then shook the man as his bandaged hands grasped the man's own. "We can't thank you enough for this," Jaune said as the man shrugged his shoulders.

"Ah, don't worry about it, it was my pleasure. Sure, you don't want to put your new gear on here? I got a room in the back if you want to change," he asked as Jaune shook his head.

"No thanks, I... don't like anyone seeing my _scars_..." he said as the man nodded.

"Oh...you one of those survivors from Beacon, aren't ya?" he asked as he nodded.

"I get you, a lot of kids got injured during that incident and a lot of them weren't the same when they got back. I'm just surprised the whole city didn't fall that day. Guess you can thank him for that, huh?" he gestured to a poster on the wall, that was a stylised version of Jaune's armour semblance as it stood on the top of the defeated dragon.

After the invasion, many citizens grew uncertain and scared of the fact that a Kingdom could be targeted by such a large force. Bandit attacks had increased in the first week due to the fear - which drew in more Grimm into the villages and caused large-scale riots to erupt in smaller towns across the World.

It looked like the world was about to fall apart.

But then news of Jaune's 'resurrection' circulated amongst the citizens, as the Council decided to capitalize on it and use it to inspire the citizens to stand up and fight for their homes. Soon stories and posters of 'The Remnant Knight' spread out amongst the Kingdoms, as Jaune had become a symbol to the people.

The man who went up against the 'Witch of Ashes' and slew her and her Pet Dragon with the devotion and strength of all mankind.

Jaune, however, felt he was unworthy of such praise. Especially as the real reason he went up there was to stop his partner from getting herself killed - Yet ironically dying to do the same thing. The difference is that he got lucky enough to come back to life, while Pyrrha may not have had the same chance.

Honestly, Jaune felt more like a joke than anything.

"Yeah...I guess..." Jaune mumbled as Cardin grabbed the chest and hefted it onto his shoulder.

"You kid's sure you won't stick around? You've really been good to this town," he asked as they all shook their heads.

"Sorry but we've got another mission we have to complete," Ren said as Nora nodded her head vigorously.

"Make it to Haven Academy, no matter what!" she said as the man nodded.

"Well you be careful, no telling what you'll meet out there," they nodded as they all began to walk away while the man nodded and went back to his shop. He then looked at the poster as thought about the boy with the bandages, and the boy that was plastered on the wall.

"...Nah" he said as he went back to work.

* * *

The Phantom – Main Bridge

* * *

Penny floated on the main bridge as she looked over a holographic display of the ship's diagnostics. The green light illuminating the bridge in an eerie green glow as she waved her hands across the displays, the images blinking in red being examined and enlarged as she looked over the overheated engine. She touched the engine as a diagnostic of the machinery replaced the ship as she placed a hand on her chin.

"Send Maintenance probe 22 and 21 to the engine room and check the coolant system, the problem could lie with a loose tubing. If that's the case, patch it up and check for a spare part in the maintenance bay," she ordered two small probes that dropped down from the ceiling. They were small and spherical as each had a single green eye glow on their faces.

They then made a series of beeps as they hovered to the engine room. "Probe 18 and 12, what is the status of the weapons system?" she asked two more drones appeared on a screen and made a series of beeps.

"Good, Ruby would be happy to know that all our weapons are fully functional and Combat Ready," she waved the screen away and continued looking over the diagnostics. Suddenly a small alert caught her attention as security footage of the cargo bay doors displayed the group as the stood outside the ship.

"Ah! Salutations everyone! I will open the Cargo Doors immediately,"

The large doors of the Cargo bay opened and a large ramp descended to the group, who then thanked Penny as they made their way to the elevator. She floated down to the floor as she stood up and brushed her dress - A useless gesture seeing as she was a hologram; But it was a small thing she liked to do. Something to distract her from the fact she lacked a body.

The elevator doors then opened as all eight of the crew members walked onto the bridge. "How was the mission?" she asked as Jaune nodded.

"It went good, we took down the Geist and managed to get the gear we needed. Did you fix the problem with the overheated engine?" he asked as she nodded.

"I've just sent a couple of my probes to investigate a possible leak in the cooling system. If the problem is small, I calculate that we should be fully operational within the next 48 hours," she said as Jaune nodded.

"Keep us updated on that, as soon as those repairs are done we need to head out. Who knows what that Traitor could be doing right now?"

"In the meantime..." Nora said as she fished around in the chest, "It's time for Team JNPR to Gear Up!" Nora said as she quickly dashed away and returned in an instant. "Ta-da!" she said as she showed her new look.

Her new look consisted of a white top like her old one, though the heart cut-out on the top had a diagonal cut through it, with a shorter detached white sleeve on her left arm. Over the shirt, she wears a zippered blue-black bomber jacket with a damaged print of her emblem visible on the back and pink stripes along the sleeves. The pink bands of the jacket tighten on her upper arms. Her skirt was slightly longer with pleats that create some flair and two wide belt loops at the waist for her matching belt and wore knee-high pink socks just visible above her calf-length boots, which were white with pink laces.

"...How did she do that?" Coco asked as the rest of Team JNPR stared at her.

"We've learned not to ask," they said as Ren picked up his clothing from the chest and went to the change rooms. While Ren wasn't as quick as Nora, he still returned after a brief period.

The first thing they noticed as the fact that he now let his hair down as it had grown to his lower back. His attire was like the one he had before in colour but now has a longer, sleeveless tailcoat. Under it, he wore a black sleeveless turtleneck with red tasselled ropes over his hips and pants that got tighter below the knees with calf-high open-toed sandals. From his middle finger to his biceps run gradient pink-to-black detached sleeves ending in metal armbands.

"Rocking the long hair, I see," Coco commented as she observed his outfit.

"It suits you and not half bad if I do say so myself," she said as she got approval from everyone else. He placed Stormflower on his thighs as he turned to Nora and nodded in approval. Jaune and Pyrrha doing the same as they admitted the boy looked impressive.

"I guess it's time we got changed too, huh?" Jaune asked as he reached into the chest, but was stopped by Pyrrha.

"First things first, you need a shower," she said as Jaune looked confused.

"No offence, Jaune, but you kind of smell like an ashtray," Velvet said as her nose was more sensitive than the others. Jaune looked down as he smelled his clothes, then cringed as he shook his head.

"Yeah, that does smell kind of bad," he said as he nodded. "Alright, I'll have a shower," he grabbed his new gear and left for his quarters - the captains cabin on the top floor. Coco then turned as she grinned at Pyrrha.

"You not going to go with him?" she asked as the champion looked suddenly nervous.

"W-why would I go with him?" she asked as Coco grinned and jabbed her elbow into her ribs.

"Oh, come on, don't tell me you didn't help him bathe when he was recovering? I can only assume you did since you spent all your time with him at Keir Arc?" Pyrrha instantly blushed as she avoided at the older girl's accusation. The older girl grinning as she folded her arms over her chest.

"You did, didn't you?" she said as Pyrrha could have sworn steam was coming off the top of her head. Nora also grinning at the girl like a mad woman, while Ruby and Velvet blushed and Penny looked confused.

"I do not understand? What was wrong with Pyrrha assisting Jaune in bathing?" she asked as Ren just waved his hand.

"Nothing, it's just a girl thing," he said as Penny still looked confused and filed the interaction later to review. Human behaviour was still weird to her.

* * *

Captain Quarters

* * *

The sound of water running echoed in the large cabin of the Captain's quarters, as Jaune stood under the shower head of his bathroom. The water cascading off his body as the small streams of water brushed against the scars and creases of his skin. The stench and dirt that had covered his body were slowly washing away as it sunk down into the drain. His hair was mattered as he thought about everything that had happened in the past week.

He ran away from his family, stole a highly experimental stealth ship and dragged all his friends on an insane quest for justice - which he prayed would not end in another World War. And he possibly possessed one of the most powerful semblances in the world but had no idea how to control it.

Honestly, it was a little taxing on the boy, but he could only imagine what the others were going through.

He knew his teammates would stand by him, they would have some issues, but they would stand by him none the less. He then thought about Ruby and how she was still dealing with all this, especially the aftermath of her team breaking up.

The state her sister Yang was in after the Invasion, her partner Weiss being held in Atlas and Blake apparently running off to the Faunus homeland to gather herself. It was a lot for the young leader to take in and Jaune wouldn't blame her if she suddenly decided to just quit and head home. She was only fifteen after all, and she had been through a lot.

But he knew how strong Ruby was and somehow, deep inside of him, he knew that Team RWBY will pull through this hurdle eventually and make it back together again.

He shut off the water as he walked out of the shower ready to dry himself and change in his room. But stopped as he looked up at his reflection in the mirror.

The sight he saw was still hard for him to comprehend as he looked up the damage that he had sustained from his battle with Cinder. While his aura did have the ability to heal himself to an extent, the degree of damage he suffered that day was too much for even his aura to repair.

Aura could heal almost anything, but it couldn't heal everything.

The scar from his left collarbone to his right waist, accompanied with the scar across his chest crisscrossed in such a fashion that it looked as if it was a grotesque version of a Cross was carved into him by a mad person. Which in a sense was true when he considered who he fought at the time?

The scar that began in the centre of his abdomen and continued out of his back was a permanent reminder of how close he had come to death and how thankful he should be that he survived. Two more scars lined his body as one was on his right leg and the other on his left arm as they were another reminder of how close he came to death.

He could still remember the moment Cinder cut into him like he was made of nothing but rice paper, as he traced a hand over the final scar on his body. The scar reached from his lower right jaw and stopped just under his eye. It was a sheer case of luck that he hadn't lost his eye in that final confrontation.

It was hard to imagine that several months ago he was just a teenager sneaking his way into Beacon Academy hoping to make himself something like his parents and grandparents.

Now, he looked as if he was a roughened veteran the with scars to show how much the pain and suffering he had endured to get them. it was the kinds of things he wanted to be proud of when he was younger. But now, they were just reminders of how painful the life of a Huntsman truly was.

Maybe that's why his parents never wanted him to follow this life? To spare him from the pain.

A gentle knock broke his thought as he turned to the door. "Jaune? Are you okay? You've been in here for almost half an hour," Pyrrha's voice said as Jaune blinked and looked at the holographic clock near his bed. It had indeed been nearly half 'n' hour as he had realised how lost in thought he had been.

"Oh, sorry," he said as he quickly went over to the bed and grabbed the pants that were laid out on it. "Hold up, I'm just-whoa!" Jaune said as he slipped on the water that gathered at his feet and fell to the floor.

"Jaune!? Jaune are you all right!?" Pyrrha said as she instantly went through the door, "I heard a noise and..." she trailed off as they both looked at each other. Jaune lying on the ground, the towel no longer around his waist as they both just stared at each other.

Two faces instantly turned bright red as Pyrrha turned around and covered her eyes. "I'm sorry Jaune! I-I-I didn't know you were changing!" she said as she rambled on, even as a small gap started to form in her fingers.

"I-It's all right! You were just worried! I understand!" Jaune said as he managed to put his underwear and pants on as he fumbled with the belt. "Damn thing won't!" he said before he finally got the belt on. "There, okay, you can turn around now," he said as she turned to him.

"Sorry about," he said as he chuckled nervously. "I didn't mean to scare you, I just slipped and..." he stopped when he noticed the far off look in her eyes. "Pyrrha?" he asked as she just continued to look at his chest.

He followed her gaze as he realised why as the scars had just as much of an impact on her as they did him.

He sighed as he placed a black sleeved shirt over his chest. "Pyrrha," he said as she looked at him. "You know I don't blame you for what happened right?" he said as he placed a hand on his chest. "This was because of my own arrogance and stupidity. You have to stop blaming yourself for what happened at the Tower," he said as she nodded.

"I know, it's just..." she walked over as she placed a hand on his chest, her fingers running along the grooves and bulges of the scars beneath the shirt. "I just can't help but think about all the pain you must have gone through, and how I could have prevented it if I had gone up in your place or run away with you when you asked...maybe it would have been better that way," she said as Jaune sighed and placed a hand on hers.

"Pyrrha, I've told you, we still don't know what would have happened if you went up there instead? For all we know, it could have been a lot worse. We can't keep focusing on the past. We just have to be glad that both of us made it out alive," he said as smiled at her. "Because I honestly, don't know what my life would be like if I lost you," he said as she blushed a sheen of red on her cheeks.

"But right now, we have a mission to complete," his eyes became focused as he walked over to the new gear that he placed on the large queen sized bed. He picked up the chest plate as he inspected the armour. "Otherwise what happened in Vale could happen to Mistral..." he gripped the edges as he thought about the invasion.

"And I _refuse_ to let that happen again," he said as she nodded and walked over to him.

"We'll stop them Jaune," she said as he nodded. He then raised an eyebrow as he looked at his partner.

"I see you got change?" he said as he looked at the new gear Pyrrha had on.

She still retained the same colour scheme of bronze, brown and red like her old armour, but replaced the cloth skirt for a leather strapped skirt that went down to her knees like those of the ancient gladiators with a skin-tight leotard underneath. She still had the same armour on her legs but had also added more armour on her arms and chest, after the blacksmith insisted that she have more protection in the chest area.

" _You can't seriously be thinking of fighting Grimm wearing that, are you!? You're trying to be a Huntress, not a model for the Sake of the Gods!"_

Pyrrha could only hang her head as she felt shame at the man's words.

It wasn't her fault her armour was like that, it was what her parents and manager suggested to sell the Pumpkin Pete cereal. Her hair had been braided together, to avoid it getting in her way while the crown she always wore still rested on her head. But he could faintly see a small inscription of the Arc symbol on the right side of her head.

She blushed slightly as she fidgeted in her new get up, "Well everyone else had decided to get change, so I figured I'd do the same. Do you like it?" she asked as he nodded.

"It looks good," he said as he then turned to his gear. "Now it's time I should do the same," he said as he began to dress.

* * *

20 minutes Later – Phantom Bridge

* * *

The elevator doors soon opened as everyone turned in the direction as Jaune and Pyrrha stepped out of the elevator. A few eyebrows were raised as Jaune stood in his new attire.

His new attire consisted of a pair of black combat boots with white metal caps on the boots. He still wore the black cargo pants of the Atlas uniform as he found them more comfortable to move in, compared to the jeans he used to wear with a utility belt around his waist. He also wore his old short sleeved hoodie, after Pyrrha had taken the time to repair it after the invasion.

On top of which he wore a white chest plate that had a gold accent that complemented the white of the armour. On his arms were two new gauntlets that covered his entire forearms, with dark golden gloves covering his arms. On his left shoulder was a single pauldron with a metal plating on the bicep. However, running down the length of the left arm was a red stripe that started from his collarbone and stopped at his wrist.

He held the new version of Crocea in his right hand and the shield in his left as he stood before his friends.

"I got to admit," Cardin said as he folded his arms. "Arc cleans up good," he said as he got nods from the others.

"I still think a grenade launcher would have really sold the whole thing," Nora said as Pyrrha just shook her head.

"No, Nora...just no," she said as she huffed and folded her arms.

"I think it looks pretty good," Velvet said as Jaune nodded.

"A sign of Progress," Ren said as Jaune looked down at the reflection of his blade.

"Yeah...progress," he said as it for a moment had the reflection of Cinder before he shook his head and sheathed his weapons. Coco then came over as she inspected the boy.

"Nice, it really looks good on you," Coco was the first to say as she inspected the armour. "I especially love the way the gold accents the white and I absolutely love the red stripe down the left arm," she said as Jaune chuckled.

"Yeah, the thing is I don't know why that is? I didn't ask him to do that?" he said as Nora threw her hand up.

"That was me! I asked him to do that!" she said with glee as Jaune looked at her.

"Why?" to which she just shrugged her shoulders.

"Just seemed appropriate," she said as everyone sighed at this.

' _Of course,'_ they all thought as they then gathered around the console. A digital display appeared before them as it showed their current location and the distance to Mistral.

"Okay, it looks like we need to this village here first, then pass this mountain area and finally a straight shot to Mistral's border where we can park the Phantom just outside their range and sneak into the city," Jaune said as he and the others looked over the map.

"Hard to believe that there's is a traitor hiding out at Haven Academy?" Velvet said as Ren nodded.

"Penny did confirm that the source code came from Haven, it's the only possible explanation of how Cinder and her cohorts managed to sneak into Beacon without being detected," he said as they pulled up images of Emerald and Mercury as they now had wanted poster plastered over the entire Kingdoms of Remnant.

"This is not going to be easy, is it?" Dove asked as Fox shrugged.

"When has anything been easy?" he asked as they all nodded. "Still, it's fortunate that this ship is fully stocked with essential supplies and ammunition," he said as Nora grinned.

"Yep, thanks to the generous donation of dust from the Schnee Dust Company!" Ruby suddenly had a sad look on her face, as she slowly slinked away from the table.

Jaune, however, noticed and followed her. Ruby walked into the hallway as she leant her back against the panels. She reached into her pocket as she pulled out her scroll and opened up a group photo of her team as Yang had her arms around them as a clearly unenthusiastic Blake, a disgruntled Weiss and a smiling Ruby smiled in the photograph. She smiled sadly at the image as a small tear formed in her eyes as she looked at the photo.

"Ruby?" she heard a voice said as she turned to see Jaune standing in the hallway. "Are you okay?" he asked as she quickly wiped away the tear that formed.

"Yeah, I'm fine..." she said as he noticed the photo on her scroll.

"Were you thinking about the others?" he asked as she nodded her head.

"...I'm just worried about them, Weiss, Blake and especially Yang. We didn't part on the best of terms before we left," Jaune hung his head as he thought about Yang.

"Yeah, I kind of understand what you mean," he said as he thought about his own parents and how furious they must be with him.

"But, you don't have to worry. We know Weiss will be safe in Atlas, she probably has the best protection detail from her family's company and I already told you where Blake is heading if what that captain said was true, so we can always go get her if you want to?" but Ruby just shook her head as she brought her legs to her chest.

"No, I think Blake wants to be alone right now, and I doubt any of us can persuade her to leave. I'm not worried about Weiss because I know she'll be alright, she may even join us later knowing her?" she said as Jaune chuckled at this as he walked over and leant down onto the floor with her. "And Yang...she was hurt pretty badly and she just needs time to heal, especially after everything that's happened to her...I just miss them, that's all," she said as Jaune nodded.

"Hey," he said as she turned to him, "Just so you know, we're all here for you, okay. You're not alone in this, and I promise that Team RWBY will rise again, trust me, I've got a good feeling about you guys." Ruby smiled as a small hint of red brushed her cheeks.

"Thanks, Jaune, that really helps," she said as the boy smiled.

"Anytime...Crater-Face," he said with a smirk as a large blush formed on her face and she snapped her head to the now grinning boy.

"Hey! No fair! I haven't called you Vomit-Boy in months! And now you suddenly call me Crater-Face!? What the hell Jaune!" she said with puffed cheeks as she started beating him with tiny fists, while the boy just laughed.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! But you needed a laugh! And that was the best I could come up with!" he said with a jovial voice she continued to puff her cheeks at him.

"Stupid Vomit-boy!" she said but somehow also laughed as the two just sat in the hallway, never noticing a smiling redhead as she watched the interaction between the two from the doorway to the bridge.

She then walked back towards the bridge, allowing the two leaders to themselves while the rest planned their next move. It was going to be a long road ahead of them, so they would need all the peaceful moments they could get.

No matter how small they may be.

* * *

Atlas - Schnee Manor

* * *

Meanwhile, staring out the window of a large ornate window was Weiss Schnee as she looked out amongst the frozen mountain peaks of her homeland. A soft sigh escaped her lips as she placed her hand against the glass, her mind wandering to all her friends and wondering how they were doing. A small knocking brought her out of her trance as she turned to the door.

"Yes?" she said as the door opened and a man walked in.

The man before her was her personal butler, Klein Sieben, a slightly overweight man with balding brown hair and a large moustache. He had light brown eyes, but for most of her life, she had seen them appear to change their colour temporarily to red, light blue and yellow - accompanied by changes in the tone of his voice.

"Pardon the intrusion Miss Schnee, but your father wishes to speak with you," he said as she sighed.

"Alright...Thank you, Klein" she said as she walked out of the room, her heels clicking across the marble floor as the door slowly closed shut, drowning the room in complete darkness as a small strand of light falls on a picture of Team RWBY on the scroll she left behind.

* * *

Omake – The Hoodie

* * *

Moments before, back up in the cabin, Jaune was starting to put on his new outfit when he noticed the red hoodie he wore into battle had multiple burn marks in it. "Ah man!" He said as Pyrrha looked at him.

"What is it Jaune?" she asked as the boy turned around and showed her the hoodie.

"This was my second favourite hoodie! I had to save up like 50 more coupons for this one! I can still never understand Aura, it can protect our bodies but it can't protect our clothes or hair? What's up with that?" he said as he sat on the bed and held the cloth in his hand.

"I really miss my old Hoodie, too bad it got destroyed during the invasion, and I really like that one," Jaune said as he thought about his Pumpkin Pete. Pyrrha then pondered for a moment as she snapped her fingers.

"Oh yeah, that's right, I just remembered something!" she quickly went out of the room and came back with a folded pieced of cloth. "I've been learning how to sew thanks to your mother back at Keir Arc and I managed to fix your old hoodie," she said as Jaune blinked in surprise.

"Really!? You fixed my hoodie!?" she nodded as she sat on the bed.

"I wanted to surprise you, but then we all left in a hurry and I just grabbed it subconsciously," she said as she held up the fabric. "So, here you go," she handed him the hoodie and smiled.

"Wow, this is awesome! You really didn't have t-!" he froze in fright as he looked at the hoodie.

What once had the cute image of the Pumpkin Pete Mascot, had been replaced by some sort of Frankenstein version, as the bunny symbol had multiple stitch patterns all over its face. Its eyes no longer symmetrical and the ears were now crooked and bent up, as other black fabrics were sewn in to replace the damaged and blood-stained sections.

For a moment Jaune could have sworn he heard a scream in the background as he stared at the hoodie.

"So, what do you think?" she asked as Jaune turned to her, as her eyes were wide with anticipation that Jaune could have sworn he saw little stars in her eyes.

He couldn't tell her the truth that the hoodie looked like a nightmare version of itself that would probably haunt his dreams for the next few weeks, and no doubt make Velvet scream in fear. So, he just smiled and did a thumbs up to her.

"I love it!" he said as she smiled and the left the room.

As soon as she was gone, he looked at the hoodie as the disfigured bunny seemed to stare evilly into his soul. He then gulped as he nervously stared at the hoodie.

"How can someone be so good at fighting, be so bad at sewing?" for a moment he could have sworn the Franken-Rabbits eyes glowed red as he dropped the hoodie to the floor.

"...Yep...that's going to haunt my nightmares..."

* * *

 **And Scene. Well, here is Chapter X of The Remnant Knight, I had this Omake idea in my head for a while, but I couldn't use it in restart because it wouldn't match. Hopefully, it worked well here and I wanted to bring back Jaune's beloved hoodie. So yeah, Jaune and the rest of Team JNPR have upgraded their gear, I can't really describe the rest of the team's new gear is because it might have changed in the canon, so I'm trying to hold off until they reappear again.  
**

 **Plus, if I spent time describing their new outfits, I would have used up half the story time writing about it. So, I just decided to stick with JNPR's new gear, with a made-up design for Pyrrha. the Next few Chapters I hope to focus a bit more on Weiss, Blake and Yang in a what are they up to and hopefully get them out of their slumps, or lows. And the reason they haven't just flown to Mistral right away would be too quick for the story and I need to include Ren's story Arc fulfilled so that he can move on from his parent's death. So, I'm using some reasons as to why they should take the long way to Mistral.**

 **Anywho, Jaune and the others have acquired their new gear and are about to begin their journey to Mistral. But what of the rest of Team RWBY? Will they eventually break out of their own prisons, metaphorically speaking, and re-join the new team that is set on uncovering the conspiracy of Salem's spy?  
**

 **Find out Next time in Chapter XI: The Song Birds Cage  
**


	11. Chapter XI: The Caged Heiress

RWBY: The Remnant Knight

There are many paths in life, some that are set in stone and some that are in a state of flux...then there are the ones that defy the course of fate. This is one such path, where destiny is defied and the path of a Knight is forged in blood, steel and magic. This is the Rise of the Remnant Knight.

* * *

 **Now before I begin, in case those of you that haven't watched Episode 11 of Chapter 5 in RWBY I am well aware of what happened to Weiss – which at the moment is unknown until Episode 12. But I highly doubt they would do anything too drastic to Weiss.**

… **Then again, we all remember the 'Pyrrha Incident'…Flashbacks to Season 3 "Shudder"  
**

 **But in any case, this was half written when that episode came out, so please be kind and hope you all enjoy this Weiss Centred Chapter as part of the Three-Part Chapters on the remainders of Team RWBY and a small segment of the newly named team Spectrum.**

 **Also, check out the new Reaction Story called 'Paths of the Arc' by** **Sixsamchaos, it starts with Ascension of the King one of my first works and its good. Go and check it out,** **it's a great read. Now, on with the chapter!**

* * *

Chapter XI: The Caged Heiress

* * *

Weiss walked down the halls of the large mansion as she made her way to her father's – how she loathed to call him that – office as she wondered what it was the man needed. Weiss never really did have much of a relationship with her father, or couldn't remember ever having a good one with the man, so to be called to his office was never a pleasant experience for her.

She passed by the many paintings and ornate furniture of her family home as her heels clicked across the stone-cold marble floor. A sound she was used to for as long as she could remember, coupled with the almost pristine white of the Mansions décor and Weiss honestly felt caged being back in her family home.

It was moments like this she wished she was back at Beacon or at Kaer Arc, where the halls had so much more diversity and life that she felt like she truly _belonged_ there, instead of in this caged prison.

Her memories shifting back months ago as she remembered the day her father dragged her away from the ones she missed the most.

* * *

Six Months Ago – Kaer Arc Fortress

* * *

Soft blue eyes looked through the glass of the medical room, as she gazed at the comatose form of Jaune Arc. His body wrapped in bandages that covered his entire body, with small areas still semi-damp with blood. His breathing almost rhythmic with the machines as Pyrrha sat by his side. The red-haired champion not moving an inch since he was declared comatose by his grandmother almost a week ago.

The only time she had moved was to bathe and eat as she needed all her strength for when Jaune finally woke up…If he ever did wake up?

She stared at the boy as she thought about all the events that had transpired over the past several months since Beacon – and all the times she had shot him down.

She remembered that her first impressions of the boy were not great and she Initially assumed that he was just after her name and wealth - like so many other boys before - and she filed him away as such. He was persistent at first – sitting next to her, offering to study together whenever they had the chance and just trying to get to know her – it almost grew to the point where she was close to freezing him in a block of ice.

It was not that she hated him – more than she found him to be annoying more than anything. But then her perspective of him began to change after the Dance with Neptune.

Neptune, to this day she still had no idea why he was different from the other boys she met, and she had no idea why she suddenly felt an attraction to him in the first place? Was it his good looks that were more effective than anyone else's? His suave and cool demeanour? Or was it his natural charm that seemed to woo almost any maiden he came across? – barring of course Pyrrha, Ruby, Yang, Blake and Nora.

But for whatever the reason, Weiss had fallen for him. So much so that she was even _willing_ to ask him to the dance. Then he rejected her, for no reason, and she felt her heartbreak.

She had never been rejected before and the experience was something new to her. She honestly didn't know how to respond to it, and she didn't know how she should react. All it did do though was make her initial time at the dance feel terrible.

That was until Neptune suddenly came back and apologised for rejecting her.

It was then she learned that Jaune managed to tell him to go after her and that as long as she was happy with him that was all the mattered. And it wasn't until a month after did she find out that Jaune knew _**nothing**_ about her Family or its reputation.

It made her realise that maybe Jaune was not like the other boys she met in her life. That maybe she had overlooked a real 'diamond in the rough' because of previous experiences. But after everything that happened after the invasion with his 'death' and then 'resurrection', everything was thrown into chaos.

Not only that but it seemed that he had moved on from her. If not for the fact that Jaune only seemed to calm down when Pyrrha was near – and from what his own mother said about his changing feelings – It made her realise that she probably missed out on a true relationship with the blond-haired knight.

"Hopefully, we can be friends at least," she whispered to herself as she left the medical wing and made her way to the courtyard.

She looked around at the large courtyard that hangs on the side of the Mountain Fortress as she noticed how different it was compared to her home back in Atlas. Back home her family's mansion was located on the mountainous ranges of Atlas, and the endless sight of snow and rock often made her feel cold and isolated. It never used to be the case when her mother was around and when her grandfather used to visit. But when her father took control of the company, the family home became a cold and lifeless that she felt like a bird trapped in a cage.

Yet here, as she looked out at the many faces and people down below and the kind people that inhabited the fort – she felt more at home than she ever did at her own home. And while Jaune's father did somewhat remind her of her own father, there was certainly enough difference to distinguish the two.

For one; the man was kinder than her own father, as he always greeted them with a smile on his face and only looked intimidating when the situation called for it. He loved all his children equally and didn't seem to pressure them in any way. Especially how he would visit his comatose son and place a gentle hand on the boy. Something she rarely ever saw her father do – another distinction between her father and Jaune's.

She breathed in the fresh air as she stood in the overhanging courtyard and looked out at the massive green forests that surrounded them. "I could get used to this," she said as she leaned on the railing and allowed herself to be overwhelmed the by the peace and serenity of nature.

"Weiss!" the familiar voice of her partner/leader called out as Ruby came speeding towards her. She smiled as her partner came running towards her, but then narrowed as she noticed a particularly angry bunch of chickens running right after her as she had a terrified look on her face.

"What the-!?"

Before she had any time to process this, Ruby had grabbed Weiss by the scruff of her jacket and pulled her away from the chicken hoard that cawed angrily at the pair – more specifically Ruby. "Ruby what the hell did you do!?" she yelled as the red huntress continued to run.

"I didn't mean to! I was helping one of Jaune's sister with the chores when I accidentally kicked one of the chickens! Next thing I knew these damn things kept chasing after me!" the pair continued to run as the angry hoard of chickens chased after them all over the fort.

"Why are they so angry!?"

"I don't know!?"

"Apologize then, you dolt!"

"I Tried! I really, really tried!"

"Unbelievable!"

For nearly half an hour the chickens chased the girls all over the Fort. From the Courtyard to the Outer Walls the chickens did not let up. Anyone that stood in their path wisely got out of the way as the residence of the Fort knew about the chickens, while those who didn't – such as Jaune's friends could only look confused.

It wasn't until the two found themselves back in the courtyard as Weiss and Ruby caught their breaths on one of the stone benches.

Turns out it was a common occurrence in the settlement as the chickens here had to be bred to be tough, but would become suddenly hostile whenever someone had accidentally kicked one of the chickens. It was apparently an eternal bane on the family since their ancestor called the Silent Hero – Arcadius Link Arc - started a feud with the Chickens ancestors year ago.

Odd, but then again it was Jaune's family after all.

However, they were always calmed down by Violet Arc who had the ability to communicate with animals, which allowed the two to stop running. "What-was-that-all-about?" Weiss asked between breaths as Ruby lay on the stone ground.

"I don't know…but it was a good thing we run into Violet when we had the chance?" they looked over to Violet Arc as she used her semblance to calm the aggressive Chickens and lead them back into the pens.

"Yet only _**you**_ could have managed to get a bunch of _**chickens**_ angry at us," they both stared at each other before they laughed. Aside from the weird and random event, the two just looked at the gardens as they sat beneath a large oaken tree.

The two find a nice moment of peace and quiet away from the busy schedule of the fort. Ruby having spent most of her time with her sister and Uncle, while Weiss helped out as much as she could with organizing the Forts Dust Supply. She felt useless sitting around doing nothing, so she volunteered to help them manage their dust supplies and give a few pointers to the Keep's staff.

However, the two members of Team RWBY found the moment to relax as they sat beneath the tree. "I really like this place," Ruby suddenly said as Weiss turned to her.

"The people here are really nice and I'm really enjoying seeing all the weapons they have in the armoury. I even got a few pointers from the quartermaster about some possible upgrades for Crescent." She said as Weiss shook her head.

"Of course, you'd like that. Weapons have always been your thing, hasn't it?"

"Sure have, ever since Uncle Qrow showed me his when I was five!" an image of a young Ruby and a somewhat sober Qrow showing her his weapon appeared in her mind, as she could only imagine how excited a little version of her would be at weapons.

"Why am I not surprised?" she muttered to herself as she smiled and sat in silence. "But yes, I rather like this place myself. It's certainly a lot different from my home back in Atlas,"

"How so?" Ruby asked as Weiss plucked a strand of grass and fiddled it with her fingers.

"Well for starters Atlas is nothing but snow and mountains, so the warmer climate here is nice. And the view of the vast forest and clear valleys is also a nice to see instead of snow," Ruby nodded as she remembered her father telling her all about Atlas and its natural defences.

"Not to mention the people here are nice, especially to someone like me. I assumed that I would have dealt with some remarks from the Faunus workers – considering my history between them and my grandfather's company. But I haven't even heard a whisper, not even a cruel glance in my direction. Either they don't know about me and are ignorant, or they do know and choose not to vocalise it." She holds the strand of grass in her hand as she wraps her hand around it.

"Back home we're not allowed to leave the grounds unless it's a charity event or social gathering. I never thought about it till recently, but living there was like living in a cage." She let the grass slip through her fingers as it drifted off into the distance.

"Either way, it's nice to be in a place that you feel safe…although with what happened at Beacon, I'm not really sure what _**safe**_ even mean anymore?" a silence drifted between the pair as the memories of Beacon returned to the surface.

"…Things have been really weird since Beacon, huh?" Ruby said as she and Weiss sat under the tree. "First we saw Beacon getting destroyed, then Ozpin went missing and then Blake ran away – it was all so sudden. I'm barely trying to wrap my own head around it," she said as Weiss nodded.

"I know what you mean. I'm still trying to get my head around it too…I honestly thought we stopped all of it when we took down Roman, but clearly, we were wrong. We were careless and let our guard down and a lot of people paid the price for it,"

"Like Jaune?" Weiss nodded as Ruby pulled her legs to her chest while Weiss leaned back against the tree.

"…How's Yang?" she asked as Ruby looked off into the distance.

"Yang is…pretty broken up at the moment. She's taking the loss of her arm pretty badly, sometimes she wakes up screaming in fear and rage - but I also think she's still mad about Blake running away, I can't really say? I try to help, but every time I do, she just pushes me away…and I'm scared that I'm never going to see my sister again. The way she used to be…"

* * *

Yang in her temporary room stares at the stump that was once her arm as an image of Blake passes over her mind. She curses and slams her left hand into the wall, cracking the stone masonry and splintering the wood.

* * *

Ruby sighed sadly as Weiss looked upon her teammate, sort of understanding what Ruby was going through. Both of them being younger sisters. When Winter had decided to leave the family business and enrol as a Huntress for Atlas, she feared that she would never see her sister again – the one person who understood her in the entire world. But Winter had assured her that no matter what happened, she would always be there for her.

She smiled at that as she turned to Ruby. "I wouldn't worry too much about Yang, she's too stubborn to let something like losing an arm stop her from being who she is. She just needs some time to heal, that's all."

Ruby thought for a moment and then nodded. "By the way, how's Jaune? I saw you coming out of Medical before, does that mean you visited him?" Weiss nodded. "And is he?" she shook her head as the girl sighed.

"When is he going to wake up? It's been almost a week since his grandmother put him into that coma, why doesn't he just wake up already?" Weiss shook her head.

"It's not that simple, Ruby. Coma's are tricky things and not everyone _just wakes_ _up_ from them. Sometimes a person can remain in a coma for months or years even. And you saw what he was like when he was brought in, that amount of damage, by all rights he should be dead."

"But he isn't because he's too stubborn to die," Ruby said as Weiss smiled slightly at that, remembering the boys more stubborn moments back at Beacon.

"Yeah, he is…Hey Ruby?" she turned to the small Huntress as said Huntress looked confused. "Do you think I should have given Jaune a chance, back at Beacon? Do you think it could have worked out better than with Neptune?"

The red-wearing Huntress blushed slightly at this as the concept of dating was still very new to her. Heck, she never really thought of boys like that. She mostly saw them as fellow Huntsman in training or in Jaune's and Ren's case like an older brother. Yet still, she remembered how often Jaune and asked Weiss out – and how often she rejected him.

"Well…I'm not the best when it comes to relationships – heck the only relationship I have is with my precious Crescent Rose."

Weiss had a disturbing mental image of Ruby and her Weapon on a date as the scary thought as that was a possibility.

"But if I were to think about it, maybe you could have given him a _little_ chance? You know maybe _one date_ wouldn't have hurt?" Weiss sunk at those words as she could almost feel them stab into her soul.

"But…" she looked up as Ruby folded her arms. "I can't honestly say whether or not it would have worked out better. I mean you were pretty head over heels for Neptune and Jaune was okay with it. Heck, he was the one that got you and him together in the end, right?"

"Before he kept flirting with other girls," Weiss muttered as she remembered his attempt at flirting with Team NDGO.

"Point is, I don't really know if you should have given Jaune a chance or not. But right now, I think we just need to be here for him, for when he finally wakes up and know that he'll be alright."

"Thank you, I'm glad to see my brother made some _compassionate_ friends such as yourselves,"

The pair turned to the entrance as a young woman with dark purple hair, light violet eyes and soft pale skin came walking towards them. She was wearing a dark set of leather armour with two combat knives at her hips and a collapsed spear on her back.

She was Violet Arc, second in command of the Advance Recon Team of Kaer Arc. Jaune's fourth oldest Sister and twin to Verte Arc.

"Oh, Violet! Sorry about the chickens before, I hope we didn't cause you too much trouble?" Weiss glared at her.

"What do you mean _we_?" Weiss muttered as Ruby chuckled nervously. Violet only chuckled as she sat next to the two.

"It's quite alright, you don't know how often those chickens cause a ruckus around here. Why I remember when Jaune was ten years old and he accidentally hit one of them with a stick while he was playing knights and dragons. The poor boy had scratches and chicken bites for weeks." All three shared a chuckle as they imagined a small Jaune being chased around by the chicken hoard.

"In any case, I'm really grateful that Jaune managed to make some friends while he was at Beacon. Especially those that care about him so much, your relationship to him must be very important?" she asked as Ruby nodded.

"Of course, Jaune was like my _first_ real friend when I got there – other than you, of course, Weiss," said girl rolled her eyes as her definition of friend was much different back then. "– and we've always had each other's back, back at Beacon, no matter what. This is just the least we can do to help." Violet smiled as she placed a hand on the girl's head.

"that's very kind of you, little one. I'm very glad Jaune has a friend like you," Ruby smiled slightly at the praise as Violet turned to Weiss. "And what of you, what was your relation to my brother?" she asked as the girl seemed to shy away from her question. "Ah, I see…you were his first crush, correct?"

Weiss flinched at that while Ruby seemed to blush for her namesake. "I-I W-Well, the thing is-!" Violet chuckled at the girl's face.

"It's quite alright, like Miss Nikos, Jaune talked very highly of you whenever he called us." Weiss blushed at this as she muttered something about stupid blonds. "And I'm also aware that his crush on you had slowly faded as time went on, correct?" Weiss stopped blushing as she nodded her head.

"It's quite alright, I also overheard your conversation – about whether or not you and my brother would have worked out together…it's been troubling you since he came back, hasn't it?" She asked as Weiss nodded.

"…I wasn't the easy person to get along with back at Beacon. In fact, most would have associated me with the term 'bitch' if given the chance. Lord knows I know that's what Yang would have called me if she were here right now." She looked over to the Medical Wing as she thought about the resting Knight while Ruby looked sadly at her partner.

"But not Jaune…No matter what I called him, no matter how many times I brushed him off, he was always kind to me – even when I didn't deserve it. He even managed to get Neptune to go with me to the Dance – even after I rejected him again. What kind of friend does that? What kind of friend am I?" she asked more herself than the others as Ruby attempted to comfort her.

But then she looked up with a determined face as she looked at the two.

"So, to make it up to him, I want to be here for him when he finally wakes up. To be a better friend then I was when we met, and hopefully, we can have a better friendship then what we had before," she said as the two just stared at her. Violet smiled as she placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Weiss, if I know my brother, he will still care about you – no matter what you think happened between you two. He's always been the forgiving type – ever since he was a child. Don't be too hard on yourself, and just be the friend he needs – not the one you think he deserves." Violet smiled as Weiss processed what she said and came to an understanding as she nodded.

But before they could talk anymore the sound of an engine resonated in their ears as all three of them turned to the distance as a small Atlas Warship was heading towards them. On the ship was the insignia of a large snowflake on a banner waving in the breeze as Weiss instantly recognised the ship.

"Atlas Ships? What are they doing here? The shipment for Vale should be delivered for another week. I need to report this to my father, stay here." Violet stood up as she made her way to the Command Centre. While Ruby and Weiss just looked at the vessel approaching.

"Weiss, that ship Is, that your sisters?" she asked as the white-haired girl shook her head and glared.

"No…it's worse than that…that's my father's ship"

* * *

Meanwhile, on the landing platforms, Roland glared as he waited for the shuttle to land. He had received the order from the aircraft that the Remnant Council had allowed this vessel to dock at his fortress. He knew who it was, as there was only one person in the entire world that would have the gal to march into his territory. He turned to Violet as she came running up to him.

"Father, we have-!"

"I know daughter…and I'm not looking forward to it,"

The vessel began to set down as the ramp opened up as large bursts of steam and smoke exited from the craft. Descending from the craft was a man dressed in a white business suit with combed-over white hair, blue eyes and a small white moustache on his top lip. The man held the aura of one born into luxury and the air of arrogance that came from wealth. The man was escorted by Atlas guards dressed in black with green visors – a sight often seen in the Atlas Black Ops Division.

The man and his guards came marching down as Roland and he met him halfway. "Jacques Gelé, what an _**unexpected**_ surprise, never thought I'd see you of all people out here," the man scoffed as he adjusted his tie.

"It's actually _**Schnee**_ now, it has been since I inherited the Schnee Corporation," the man said as Roland smirked.

"Yet the last time I checked Schnee was your _**wife's**_ name, _**not**_ yours, _**Gelé**_. And you didn't inherit the company, you took it from your ill father-in-law _**after**_ you married his daughter in a loveless relationship. Everyone knows it, so don't try to deny it, Jacques." The man grinned as Jacques felt a blood vessel bulging on his head. But he managed to keep it down as adjusted his gloves.

"And I see you are still the usual blunt idiot you've always been, Roland. Brutish and uncivilised, letting your mouth speak before your brain catches up to you. One of these days it's going to get you into a mountain of trouble, and not even your brutish strength will be able to save you." Roland glared as he crossed his arms.

"Let's just cut to the chase and tell me what you want. Cause I highly doubt you came all the way out here just to get into an argument with me, what is it that _**I have**_ that you _**lack**_ , other than _**respect**_?" Jacques only glared as he reached into his jacket and handed him an envelope.

"My Daughter…I've come to take her back to Atlas, you are to hand her over to me this instant" From a distance, Ruby and Weiss gasped as they overheard the man and grew concerned as Roland read the letter. He then subsequently handed the letter back to Jacques.

"I refuse," he said as Jacques raised an eyebrow.

"Excuse me?"

"I said I refuse, you can't have your daughter while she is under my protection. Anyone who stays under my roof is under my protection," Jacques narrowed his eyes as he held up the letter.

"Surely you jest? The documents clearly state that the Atlas Council have given me full authority to retrieve _**my daughter**_ and return her to Atlas."

"True, but we aren't in Atlas now, are we? We are still in Vale Territory, and I only answer to the Vale Council. So, unless you get authority from the Remnant Council, I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

"But as her father, I have full right to retrieve my daughter and take her home for her own safety," Roland scoffed at this.

"Safety? Let's be honest here, _**Gelé**_ , the only reason you need her back is that she is one of your only _**legitimate**_ ties to the Schnee Company. With Your Eldest Joining the Atlas Military, your son being a spoiled Brat that no one will listen or respect - all you have left is Weiss unless she doesn't want to be the heir of the Company. Not only that but because she survived the Beacon Invasion – that _**my son**_ managed to prevent – she becomes a propaganda tool for you and your company." Roland hung his head as he smiled softly.

"I may not have allowed my son to be the warrior he should have been, but I did it out of love for his safety…can you say the same?" Jacques glared as he gripped his hand around the letter tight. The Black Ops guards noticing the tense mood, slowly moved their fingers to the triggers while the Kaer Arc soldiers slowly reached for their rifles.

Weiss grew afraid as she saw the subtle enraged look on his face – a look she had often seen as a child whenever things didn't go in his favour, and when things never went in his favour…people suffered.

Jacques then raised his hand as he signed the men behind him to cease as he adjusted the hem of his suit. "Very well, if that is the case then I will return with the official orders from the Remnant Council. Of course, it could take time to sort out the paperwork – what with the CCT offline for the moment…" he then smirked as Roland raised an eyebrow.

"And in that time, I can call a few favours to some _**associates**_ I know that frequently deal with between Kaer Arc in terms of ammunition and food supplies. Sure, this facility has access to Dust Reserves and generators that are all owned by you. But how long can you feed your people without a steady supply from neighbouring Kingdoms? How long can you keep the lights on in this place till your Dust generators give out? And if that were to happen…"

"What would happen to your son currently in a coma, if his life support gives out?"

An enraged look came into Roland's eyes as his aura slightly flared around him, the ground beneath his feet cracked slightly as he glared at the man before him. The Atlas guards raised their rifles at the man, while the Arc forces drew their weapons and aimed them right back.

Jacques himself was somewhat frightened of the man before him but had long since grown accustomed to dealing with enraged or sometimes hostile elements in his life. He could handle him...

Hopefully?

"If you think you can march in here, threaten my fortress, my home, my son! With idle threats and bureaucratic bullshit, then you have clearly never seen an Arc in battle! It will take more than words and documents to bring down this fort!" he and Jacques glared at each other as tensions ran high between the two men.

"Wait!"

Both stopped as they turned to see Weiss running towards them – Ruby barely keeping up as she stood in front of Roland. "Stop, I'll come with you. Just don't do anything to these people," she asked her father as the man stared at his daughter and then gestured to the guards behind him to relent.

"Very well, grab your things and get on the shuttle. It's time we left this…barbaric place" the man scoffed as Weiss solemnly nodded and moved to grab her things. Roland, however, grabbed her arm as he looked at the sad girl in the eye.

"You don't have to go, we can protect you here." She smiled softly as she shook her head.

"I know…but I have no choice," the man nodded as he let go and she moved past her stunned partner to grab her things. She returned shortly after with a small duffle bag by her side and her sword at her hip as she made her way back to the shuttle.

"Weiss!" she turned to see Ruby as she quickly rand and embraced her tightly. Small tears already staining her white jacket as Ruby cried on her shoulder. "Please don't go…I can't do this alone…" she whispered as Weiss found it hard to contain her own tears as she returned her hug.

"I'm sorry Ruby…but don't worry, I'll be back. Team RWBY's not done yet, not by a long shot." she parted ways with the young leader as she joined her father at his side. The man sending back one last triumphant smirk to Roland as the shuttle closed and aircraft soared into the sky. Away from the warmth and care of the people of the Forest…

And back to the cold and lonely isolation of the Snow

* * *

Schnee Mansion – Present Day

* * *

She shook off the memory as she continued to walk down the hall towards her father's office. Her heels tapping against the marble floor as she passed the staircase to the main lobby and the large ornate Window that basked the room in a cold white light.

"Good afternoon, sister." She turns around as a teenage boy, somewhat younger than Weiss, stands before her. He's got his hand on his chest and he affects a bow. "A pleasure to see you out of your room for a change."

Weiss sidesteps him and turns to speak, and since he moves to face her the effect is that of the two of them briefly circling each other. "Hello, Whitley. You're in a cheery mood today." She questions her brother's slightly odd behaviour as the boy smiles.

"Klein made crepes for breakfast. They were divine as usual," he says as Weiss narrows her eyes at him. He clasps his hands behind his back and smirks at her.

"What do you want?" she questioned as the boy shrugged his shoulders.

"I heard Father shouting with someone in his study earlier." She glanced back as a small hope swelled in her chest.

"Mother?" sadly he shook his head.

"No, she's already drinking in the garden. I think it was a man?" Weiss looks up at him on this. It had been a long time since she had seen her mother – and not with a bottle in her hand. But it made her wonder if her father wasn't talking to Mother, who was he yelling at?

"I just wanted to warn you. I heard he had asked to speak with you."

"I'll be fine."

"I know you will. You are strong, like Winter." She narrowed her eyes at the boy as he mentioned their older sister - someone that he never got along with despite being related.

"You never liked Winter." She said as Whitley smirks and looks behind Weiss to see the Schnee Dust Company emblem above the archway she is walking toward.

"True, but you can't deny her resolve." Now she knew something was up as he had never heard him praise Winter, or herself for that matter. Had things changed since she went to Beacon?

"You seem…different?"

"And you've been gone. I'll have you know I didn't stop growing while you were away at Beacon." Whitley turns and walks away. As he does so, the lower half of a family portrait can just be seen on the wall between where the two were standing.

"Anyway, good luck with Father!" he called back as she watched him disappear into the depths of the family home. After he is gone, Weiss responds.

"Thank you."

She continued her walk as she soon came upon the ornate door to her father's study, a place she often dreaded to go because all she would ever hear from it was rage and anger about what was happening with the Company. And it seemed today was no exception.

"I'm not talking about the future of _**my company**_ , James! I'm talking about the _**future**_ of _**Atlas**_ , the future of our _**Kingdom**_!" her father's voice echoed in the office as Weiss stopped to listen in on the conversation.

"That is a load of garbage and you know it, Jacques! You still just annoyed about the Embargo that's been placed on the Dust trade." He recognised the other voice as James Ironwood, an old friend of the Schnee Family since her Grandfathers time and his time during Beacon.

"Which has already cost me millions! You've always been a trusted friend and ally to this family, but what you are suggesting is totally absurd! The Atlas Council would ever agree to it!" her father argued as the man shook his head.

"You forget that I hold _**two seats**_ on the Atlas Council and the Remnant Council is will to hear my proposal. They trust me and know that I'm doing everything in my power to protect not only our Kingdom but the rest of the world," Jacques just glared as he loomed over his desk.

"Like you did with Beacon?" Weiss could have sworn she saw a tint of anger in the general's eyes as he gripped the armchair tight. But he relented as he glared back at the man.

"What happened at Beacon was something no one could have foreseen… and something I should have prevented. That is why I am grateful that it was stopped and why I hold eternal gratitude to the young Arc that gave his life to save," Weiss hung her head as she thought about Jaune, wondering how he was since he woke up.

From what she had heard from Pyrrha and the others…was not good as he seemed fixated on the notion that whoever was behind Beacon was still out there…and that terrified her. However, during her moment of thought, she accidentally leaned too close on the door and made an audible creek that drew the two adults attention. James straightened in attention as he bowed to the girl.

"Ah, Miss Schnee, I apologise. Your father did summon you before I arrived. Clearly, I lost track of time and ended up staying longer than needed. I should have been long gone by now," Weiss shook her head.

"It's alright, General Ironwood. It's good seeing you again after beacon."

"Likewise, Miss Schnee," The man nodded as Jacques gestured to the door.

"In any case, it's time that the General left. Klein will show you out," Ironwood nodded as he moved his way to the door. But not before he stopped before Weiss.

"Please know, you'll always have a home at Atlas Academy, Miss Schnee. We'll be back in session before you know it." Weiss only nodded as the man bid the man one last farewell before leaving the office. Which also left Weiss and her father alone for the first time since she got back. And was the first thing he says to her?

"Did you forget your manners while you were away?"

Weiss gripped her fists as she held in the anger she felt towards the man that dragged her away from her friends. But she held it in as she could not afford to incur his anger.

"Apologies, Father, I'm sorry." The man only nodded as he turned to the window and watched as Ironwoods ship took off into the distance.

"Can you believe that people still blame Atlas for what happened at Vale, when the machines turned against us? Despite it being proven that they were hacked by a deranged woman. Yet they still think it was our fault for not being prepared for it and has cast doubt on our technologies security. It's absurd, it's a wonder that Ironwood hadn't been stripped of his Rank already," Weiss shook her head at this.

"They weren't there and Ironwood did the best he could to protect us, the Council trusts him after all. I trust him after all," she glared as she gripped her fists _'More then I'll ever trust you'_ she thought as she glared at the man's back until he turned around and resumed a neutral façade.

"I suppose the Council would trust a well-decorated soldier such as himself, for better or worse." He shook his head as he sat down. "Still, thanks to him, Atlas is forbidden from exporting Dust to other Kingdoms. 'A precautionary measure,' as he puts it, 'until we're certain no one is going to declare war'. How anyone could possibly find that to be sound logic is beyond me."

Weiss, however, felt she agreed with the measure after everything she saw during the Beacon Invasion. It was a logical choice, after all, in order to prevent more bandits from being armed.

"However, while Vale was saved it doesn't mean that Atlas will be forgiven for the mishap of the Atlesian Knights. Which is why the Schnee Dust Company will be holding a charity concert in the coming weeks, to help rebuild the ruined city. We need to show the people of Remnant that we are on their side. That we are all victims of the fall of Beacon and hopefully regain some of their trust in Atlas."

Weiss blinked in surprise at this. Charity events were oftener things where you give money to over people – a stark contrast to her father's usual take money from others. To see him actually wanting to help others was both strange and confusing. But also, a little hopeful as she thought for a moment that it is good in him.

"That's…wonderful new, the people of vale would really appreciate that." The man nodded at this.

"I know. Which is why I am thinking it would be helpful if _**you**_ were to perform at the event." She blinked at this as he continued. "Many forget that you were there. My own daughter, a _**Schnee**_ , was on the grounds that day, defending another Kingdom! We need to remind them of our strength! And we need to show them that the Schnee family is just as strong as ever! Not to mention you close friendship with the Remnant Knight himself will be an added boon to the Company!"

Ah, there it was.

She should have figured there was some angle he would benefit from this. Exploit her to further the Company in any way he saw fit. Being a survivor of the attack and one of Jaune's close friends, of course, he would use her rather than actually care for the people of Vale. She almost thought that he had a slither of humanity in him…

Clearly, she hoped too much.

"So, I hope to see you practising for the next couple of days while the event is prepared," Weiss raised an eyebrow as she looked the man.

"Are you asking me if I'd like to sing…or are you telling me to sing?" the man leaned forward on his desk as he made a tent with his fingers.

"It would make a lot of people happy if you were to perform, and would ease their troubles, am I right?" Weiss sighed as she nodded.

"I'll start practising," the man smiled as he turned around in his chair.

"That's...my girl," the way he said those words were always hollow to her as she felt no love or care from the man before her. But then again, that was something she had long gotten used to as she left the room. When he was alone Jacques narrowed his eyes as he turned back around and pressed a few keys into his computer. A moment later and a familiar General appeared in holographic form.

"President Schnee, to what do I owe the pleasure?" General Cobalt asked as Jacques glared at the man.

"Don't play coy with me, Cobalt. I want to know what happened to the 'Project' I heavily invested in that was recently stolen from your base merely a week ago," Cobalt was silent as he smirked while shaking his head.

"…I see I knew Armstrong couldn't hold his tongue for much longer. Of course, he would complain about this to you."

"This is serious Cobalt! I invested a lot of money into that Project, the first stealth ship in human history on the promise that it would benefit the future of our Kingdom! Yet you let it get stolen by a bunch of kids!" he slammed his hands onto the oak desk. "That vessel was meant to give Atlas an edge over the other Kingdoms in case something like what happened in Vale happens to Atlas!" he looked the man in the eyes as he glared.

"So, explain to me why you _**let it**_ get away before I consider cutting the Black Ops Budget in half!" Cobalt remained calm as he pressed a few keys on his own console.

"The incident is well under control. Yes, while the Project being stolen was unforeseen and could have been avoided it has provided us with useful information." Jacques raised an eyebrow as the man continued.

"For the past few months, we struggled to get the Aura Engine Online, even though we had access to the android's body and core. None of our scientists could figure out how it was that Professor Polendina and Ironwood were able to graft a soul onto a mechanical form. Yet it appeared that the core was more advanced then we thought and the soul was, in fact, dormant inside the core."

"It was because of the intruder's intervention, that the Core came online and power up the Phantom. Which then proved its capabilities in the short amount of time it was seen by _**our forces**_ , clear proof that the project is functional and could possibly be replicated. We have the means to track down the ship, devices that the Android will not be able to detect within her new vessel." Jacques narrowed his eyes as he eyed the man suspiciously

"If you have means to track it, why haven't you retrieved it yet? What are you playing at Cobalt?" the man pulled up the security footage from the soldier's head cams as the face of Jaune Arc appeared before them.

"The Remnant Knight? What does he have to do with it?"

"During the last Remnant Council Meeting Jaune Arc was convinced that those behind the Beacon attack were part of a larger group that threatens the safety of all other Kingdoms. The Council, of course, refuted his claim, but I'm the type that takes claims with more intuition than most. After all, the woman did confess over CCT Network, and the strange abilities she performed lacked any Dust trace at all where she perished. Mister Arc is sure that there is an enemy out there, and I fully believe him,"

"That still hasn't explained why you haven't retrieved the Phantom yet?" Cobalt smirked as he looked at the man.

"Our sources tell us Mister Arc is headed for Mistral with the belief that there is a traitor amongst the staff of Haven Academy. If that is true, then the safety of all the Kingdoms is still at risk and only he and his team can prevent it. But not only that, if Mister Arc does find the traitor and brings him in using _**our ship**_ we can easily claim we gave him the ship as a way to help track down traitors of the Four Kingdoms – by offering to drop all charges for him and his friends for stealing the ship in the first place."

"In doing this, it will thereby reinstate trust back into Atlas, the Council will allow us access to the procedure used to create the 'Penny Android' and prove to the world the technological might of Atlas for all times." Jacques pondered about this as he slowly came to understand the man's reasoning as he nodded.

"Fine, but keep me updated. I don't want to be left in the dark when all this turns out positive in the end"

"And if it doesn't?" the man smirked as Jacques tented his fingers again.

"Then I will deny everything, as usual," Cobalt smiled as he bowed to the man.

"Then I bid you a fair due…Mister President," he said as the hologram faded.

Jacques stared at the faded projection as he turned around and glanced out at the Kingdom that he one day dreamed would be his. Even if he had to take it one piece at a time. He smirked as he leaned back in his chair and dreamed of the future he dreamed for Atlas.

* * *

Phantom – Main Bridge

* * *

Jaune, Coco, Cardin and Ruby were gathered around the holographic map on the main bridge as they plotted out their next route. "We should head this way, there's a small village called Shion, we can park there for a day or two and see if we can learn anything regarding odd behaviours in the Kingdom. We have no idea if the traitor has an information network so we need to be careful and try not to draw any attention,"

"Makes sense, the one thing we are lacking right now is new information regarding Mistral. I remember overhearing Glynda saying that it's been pretty quiet since the invasion five months ago, could have something to do with the person we're after?" Coco said as she and the other leaders looked at the board.

"Anything you can tell us about Shion, Jaune? You seem to know a bit about it," Cardin asked as Jaune smiled softly at the map.

"My family used to go there on holidays when I was a kid, it was rare for dad to get time off being the Commander and all, so it has some fond memories for me." Ruby looked at the boy as she smiled.

"Oh yeah, I remember your sister, Rouge, telling me about how they used to braid your hair until you got your own tent." A myriad of chuckles escaped from Coco and Cardin as Jaune blushed with embarrassment.

"Hey, that's not cool Ruby! Plus, they told me it was a Warriors Wolf Tail! How was I supposed to know?"

"Since when does a wolf tail look like pigtails?" Jaune slumped as the others still laughed at him.

Ren and Nora watching from the side as they monitored the ship's systems from their consoles. "That's nice, it good to see Jaune smile once and a while. He's been so serious ever since we started this whole trip. I'm glad he's letting loose a little," Nora commentated as Ren nodded.

"Indeed, I was getting a little worried about his obsession with finding this traitor. But I'm glad to see him relaxing a bit more - even if it's only for a moment," the two remained silent as the stared at the screens.

"Ren?" the boy turned to her. "Do you think we can do this? Do you think we can actually stop them?" the boy remained silent as he thought about the question no one on the ship had dared to ask. Can they, do it? He shrugged his shoulders as he looked at the one he grew up with the most.

"I don't know…but I have to believe that we can, for all our sakes…" she nodded at this as Pyrrha came onto the bridge. Jaune turned to greet her, as she smiled and walked up to him.

"How much further are we to Shion?" she asked as the boy pulled up their current location.

"It shouldn't' be too far now. I think we can actually see it if we look out the window," he turned around with a smile on his face. "You guys are going to love it, it's a really great-!" he stopped as they all turned to the window, wondering what had caused the boy to pause.

The answer came in the form of a large cloud of pitch black smoke drifting into the air, coming from the direction that they were heading.

Shion Village

"Oh my god…" Pyrrha stared in horror as she and the others watched the smoke. Ren and Nora were stiff as a board as they looked at an all too familiar scene as the Phantom drifted closer to the now destroyed village. Ren tensing with anger as Nora placed a hand over her mouth to stop her gaps. Jaune instantly turned to the crew as his face and his voice turned serious.

"There could be survivors! Everyone get their gear and head to the Spectre! Penny!" He commanded as she appeared to him in her holographic form. "Prep the med bay and notify the teams! I want anyone who had some form of medical training with me when we get down there! Keep the Phantom at a safe distance until we're sure there's no danger!" she nodded as she summoned more of her drones to prepare for ay injured.

"Coco, you have the helm, let me know if see _**anything**_ coming our way. Cardin, you're her XO until I get back!" The older girl and old bully nodded as they followed his orders.

"Aye, aye Captain," he and the others turned and headed for the hangar. The made it to the Cargo bay as Yatsuhashi, Fox, Dove, Sky and Velvet met them near the armoury.

"Jaune, what's going on?" Yatsuhashi asked as stood by his side with a had a medical bag next to her.

"Shion village was attacked, we're going down to see if there are any survivors. Velvet, you had medical training, correct?" she nodded. "The let's get down there and see what we can do," they nodded as they prepared to

"Captain" Penny's voice appeared over the intercom as Jaune and the Team looked up.

"I regret to inform you that due to the rather harsh landing in the cargo hold, I can no longer remotely guide the Spectre form here. It was only just discovered by one of my drones. I require a Pilot to fly the shuttle," Jaune cursed as he looked at them.

"Don't suppose any of you know how to fly a shuttle?" Surprisingly Sky raised his hand as they stared at him.

"My family owns an airship company in Atlas. My father used to teach me how to fly when I was fifteen," Jaune shrugged.

"Good enough, let's go." They all boarded the shuttle. But just before he got on, he stopped as he inspected one of the collapsible assault rifles in the gun rack near the armoury and grabbed one before placing it on his back. The others raised an eyebrow as he got onto the shuttle.

"We don't know what's down there and I'm the only one without a firearm. Don't worry, I won't shoot myself if that's what you're worried about." They looked concerned but nodded as Sky got into the cockpit and powered up the shuttle.

The shuttle soon hovered in the centre as the jet from the engines blew large amounts of dust and smoke away as the team hopped out of the shuttle. Jaune pulled the rifle from his back as the gun unfolded into a rectangular looking rifle with a holographic sight and laser sight underneath.

He and the others aimed their weapons around as they looked at all the damage and chaos that had been unleashed upon the once peaceful town. Broken windows and lampposts litter the ground with glass and splinters as several dead bodies lay amongst the wreckage of the town. Ash and dust littered the air as Jaune could barely stand the stench of death that lingered in the air. A smell he never wished to experience again.

It was like being back at Beacon all over again.

"Split up, we need to check for survivors. Ren, you and Nora check that way. Ruby, Pyrrha and I will head that way. While Yatsu and Fox, head in that direction. Dove, you stay with Velvet and Sky and guard the shuttle. If we find anyone we'll contact you on the headsets. Let's go, people," they all nodded as the followed his orders.

The group split up as they searched the destroyed town for survivors. Jaune, Pyrrha and Ruby checking some of the buildings, while Yatsu and Fox tried to sense if anyone was around. So far, there was none to be found. Ren and Nora, on the other hand, were fighting off the sicking sensation that dwelled within their stomachs as they walked across the all too familiar scene of death and destruction.

A scene they had seen so long ago

Nora looked at her partner/childhood friend as she noticed the subtle look of fear and rage in his eyes. The boy looking around desperately for any survivors – any at all – as each body he found carried nothing but death and sorrow. He gripped his fist as he rolled another body other – a small child no older than three - as she stared up at the sky with lifeless and cold eyes. He hung his head as placed his hand over the child's eyes and closed them shut.

A small pray escaping his lips as Nora placed a comforting and understand hand on his shoulder.

Suddenly a small cough caught their attention as they bolted towards the sound, turning a corner to a young man dressed in armour as he held his abdomen in pain. Blood leaking from his fingertips as he coughed and gasped in pain.

"We found someone! Velvet get over here, now!" Nora called out over the radio as Ren instantly ran to him.

He stood beside the young man as the rest of the team ran towards them, Velvet running up next to him as she tried her best to help the man. "A Huntsman," Pyrrha observed as she looked at the man's armour.

"What happened here? Who did this?" Jaune asked as the man coughed in pain, while Velvet tried her best to stop the bleeding.

"Bandits…the whole tribe…it was like nothing-argh! I'd ever seen before…then…with all the panic-cough!" he coughed and gasped in pain as Ren narrowed his eyes.

"Grimm…" the man nodded as Ren stood up and walked away from the group as he seemed to be troubled while Nora went over to comfort him. Jaune placed his hand on his neck as he radioed the Phantom.

"Penny, prep the Med-bay. We have one survivor, badly wounded, and needs immediate medical attention. Sky, bring the Spectre over here and get the cart ready for-" he was stopped as Velvet grasped his arm. He looked over as she shook her head and looked down at the young man. The man's breathing had stopped as his skin was pale and white…

He was dead.

Jaune cursed as he and the others stared at the now deceased young man. They hung their heads and paid a small moment of silence of respect for the poor man. "Should we…should we bury him?" Ruby asked as Ren turned back to the group and shook his head.

"We can't stay here, Grimm always return to places like this…we need to get moving." As much as Jaune didn't want to admit it, Ren had a point. Even with the Phantom overhead, they had no idea what was out here and they couldn't afford to take any chances.

"Everyone back to the shuttle…let's get out of here…" he solemnly said as everyone nodded and headed back to the shuttle.

Jaune stayed behind for a moment as he stared at the dead man before him. Memories of his own death coming back to him as he knew what the man must have felt in his last moment. And he wondered if this was what it looked like for him when he died?

Now he understood why everyone was concerned for him…Death was a painful to experience and a horrible thing to witness

He felt a gentle hand on his shoulder as he looked into the concerned emerald eyes of Pyrrha. "Are you okay, Jaune?" she asked as the boy turned back to the corpse.

"I'm…I'm alright…let's head back to the shuttle," was all he said as he gently brushed past her while she stared in concern for the boy as she silently followed behind him.

Meanwhile, Ren noticed something on the ground as he broke off momentarily from the group and investigated. his eyes widened in fear as a large cloven hoof print presented impressed itself into the ground. Nora came up to his side as her eyes widened as well as she stared at the same mark. The two of them silently make eye contact as they both knew what this mark meant to them.

Their past was catching up with them

* * *

 **And Scene. Well here is Chapter XI of The Remnant Knight. Holy shit this took a while. Sorry for the late update and happy New year to Everyone around the world! Hopefully, I will be able to update more of my stories this year, but writing takes a lot of time and patience. Stuff that is taken away from me when I have to go to work and pay my rent. And I'm still on the edge of my seat about what happened in the last episode of RWBY.**

 **Seriously F#%K Cinder** **.** **So please be patient and I will get to them eventually. I am not dead, I repeat I am not dead. So, yeah thank you and hope you all enjoyed this chapter. And stay tuned for…  
**

 **Chapter XII: The Wounded Brawler.**

… **But seriously F#%K Cinder!**


	12. Chapter XII: The Wounded Brawler

RWBY: The Remnant Knight

There are many paths in life, some that are set in stone and some that are in a state of flux...then there are the ones that defy the course of fate. This is one such path, where destiny is defied, and the path of a Knight is forged in blood, steel and magic. This is the Rise of the Remnant Knight.

* * *

 **A/N I've made some changes to Chapter III of Remnant Knight that I wish I added before, please have a look when you have the chance and tell me what you think. Now, without further a due, here is the Yang centred chapter of The Remnant Knight. Also, thinking about Changing the Title to The Remnant Knights? Should I, or should I just keep it singular, tell me what you think?**

* * *

Chapter XII: The Wounded Brawler

* * *

Lilac coloured eyes stared aimlessly at the large forest surrounding her home, as Yang Xiao Long sat alone on a stump and contemplated the many events that had transpired in her life. Her long blond hair tied up into a messy ponytail as she wore a set of casual clothes comprised of an orange shirt, dark grey pants and grey jacket. The jacket's right sleeve tied up in a knot, due to the loss of her original arm.

The mere mention of the missing limb brought a bout of depression to the once spunky brawler as she looked at the missing appendage.

Looking down at the stump she still found it hard to believe that her arm was really gone, even though it had been six months since the invasion and she had recovered since her time at Kaer Arc. Ironwood had attempted to contact her before, to apologise for not believing her, but she found it hard to accept an apology from the man who didn't believe her about not attacking Mercury on purpose.

Mercury Black…the very name brought a great rage to her soul as she gripped her remaining fist into a tight ball as her eyes momentarily flash red.

When she had heard Cinders' confession over the entire CCT network, she could not believe how easily they manipulated her into doing their dirty deeds. Framing her for attacking someone who was never even injured in the first place and used her to summon the Grimm.

They lied and deceived the populace into thinking she attacked him on purpose. Made her look like she was an out of control party girl with no restraint whatsoever. So, when she was banned from the tournament and placed under house arrest for a misdeed she never committed intentionally she felt like a criminal confined within her own room.

A humiliation that she will never forget.

Oh, if she ever found that smug bastard again, she would tear off his legs and beat him to death with them. Then she would find that little bitch Emerald and beat her to death with said appendages until her eyes popped out of their sockets for messing with her head. But the worst thing of all was that it alienated her from her own partner…

That last one hurt her the most.

She looked down in sadness as she thought about her partner or rather her former partner, Blake Belladonna, who was secretly a Faunus and former member of the White Fang. When she had come to back on the airship she feared the worst when Weiss told her that she was gone. She thought that she had failed to save her from that horned man and that she died trying to save her.

However much to her shock, she discovered that Blake had just…left.

She left everything behind. Her team, her friends…her...everything.

To this day, she still had no idea why her partner left, with the only assumption being that it had to do with the White Fang being manipulated by Cinder and their role in attacking Beacon. But why? She thought constantly. Why did she think she had to leave?

She didn't care about her history with the White Fang, them attacking the school or losing her arm because of that man. All she cared about was her friend, her partner, was safe. But instead of staying around and working through it together, she just left her behind to wallow in her own grief.

She left her alone with her pain…

Deciding not to dwell on it, she got up as she went back inside the house, as she needed something to cool her head otherwise she'd probably break something. Grabbing a can from the fridge she plopped herself down on the couch and turned on the TV as the holographic monitor appeared before her.

"Greetings, this is Lisa Lavender here with another report on the ongoing efforts of Vale's reconstruction. Six months have passed since the infamous attack on Vale and efforts to rebuild the once glorious city have been met with many difficulties. With the large-scale damage that was inflicted upon the city, many are sceptical if the Kingdom can ever fully recover."

Images of Vale's still broken streets and huddled masses appeared on the screen as the camera rolled over to them. People lining up to soup kitchens stretched for miles on end, as the people gathered to gain what little food the Atlas, Vale and Arc forces had to offer. Yang looked in sadness at this unfortunate site.

"Many of Vale's law enforcement has attempted to maintain order in the city but has been proven difficult due to the multiple strings of bandit raids across the Kingdom's borders and the smaller settlements. It's only thanks to the efforts of the Atlas Military, Huntsman and Kaer Arc forces that order has been maintained..."

The news broadcast then showed Jaune's oldest sister and the former Headmistress of Beacon directing the troops and organizing aids, as they attempted to bring back order to the city. Yang smiled at this as she looked at Jaune's sister and the former Headmistress working together to fix the damage that had been done.

"Thought it should be noted that the situation could have been a lot worse, had the intervention of the Remnant Knight not slain the Grimm Dragon and saved Vale from being consumed by the Grimm…" Images of Jaune in his armour appeared as they showed a still image of him in his full armour as he glared at Cinder.

"The identity and background of the instigator, now known as Cinder Fall, is still uncertain as any records of her existence are scarce at best. And while her death has reassured the world, the whereabouts of her co-conspirator's, Emerald Sustrai and Mercury Black are still at large. They are reported to be armed and dangerous, as authorities are advising to stay clear of them and to report any information to a local Huntsman or Law official."

Clips of Emerald and Mercury's' matches in the doubles round were plastered on the screen as the words "Wanted" were stamped under them. Yang's eyes flashed red momentarily as the canned drink held in her one hand crumpled slightly as she gripped the thin metal tight.

"In other news, recent reports indicate the White Fang is in complete disarray following the attack on Vale as many of their own members have either abandoned the organization or denied allegations to knowing of the assault on the Kingdom. With the Current Leader Sienna Khan, struggling to hold the organization together."

News footage of a female tiger Faunus is displayed on the monitors as she addressed her people, trying to placate the riot. But many cries of outrage circulated the background and drowned her speech as an ever-growing look of frustration appeared on her face as the protest against the White Fang grew louder. Amongst the protesters were members of her own organization bellowing their grievances about 'betraying the White Fang cause' and 'still slaves of humanity' or even 'We cannot believe they took orders from a human'.

"Though she has denied any allegations of their involvement in the attack, she claims that it was done without her authorization or her knowledge. Though officials are sceptical…" Images of White Fang members seen rallying on the streets are displayed as they proclaimed their innocence in the wake of the attack on Beacon.

"But officials have confirmed that the one who led the attack, Adam Taurus – a high ranking officer in the White Fang – was present during the invasion and is still at large. …" a picture of Adam appeared on the screen as Yang felt her heart clench.

"Attempts to bring him into custody have been met with brutal resistance and authorities are-"

Yang felt her heart quicken as her severed arm started to ache, causing her to grip onto the stump. To take her mind off it, she continued listening to the report. The lines of Adam's mask seemed to glow as the feeling of metal meeting flesh crawled beneath her skin as the memory of six months ago came back in full force as her heart beat faster. She quickly grabbed the remote and shut off the screen just as his face appeared and the room was drowned in silence.

Dropping the remote on the couch she attempted to calm her nerves that were firing all over her body. The image of Adam was still too much for her, as the trauma, she suffered from his attack still haunted her to this day. She suffered from many sleepless nights as thoughts of Beacon and the invasion still plagued her traumatized mind.

When did this happen? When did she become so…scared?

The sound of the door opening and the bark of a dog brought her back. "I'm home!" Tai Yang called out as he came in carrying a load of boxes. She managed to calm herself as she looks back from the couch and smiles.

"Hey, Dad. How was Signal?" she asked as he regularly did work at the training Academy being an instructor and all.

"It was alright, we only just started getting the school back up. A lot of parents are concerned about sending their kids to train after what happened at Beacon. But we've assured them that's not the case and a lot of students have come to enrol. The students are eager to learn about being a huntsman. Although a lot of their reason now is to become like that Jaune Arc kid – The Remnant Knight. He seems to have inspired a lot of them," She chuckled at this as she remembered the first time they proclaimed that title for him.

"If only they knew what he was like before?" she chuckled as she could only imagine how they would react to finding out that the 'Hero of Vale' once had a serious case of Airsickness, vomited on her shoes and was a terrible flirt. She chuckled at the memory as her father laughed as well.

"You should have seen his dad in the day. Roland was kind of like him, minus the inexperience that his son had. Good times," he placed the boxes down and sat on the armchair as she raised an eyebrow.

"You knew his dad?" he nodded at this.

"Yep, back in my old STRQ days. He was the leader of what I guess you can consider as our sister Team, like your friends in JNPR. He was the leader of Team ROGE and he was probably the most stubborn bastard I've ever met in my life, but a good friend nonetheless and someone you want to fight by your side…" he smiled briefly as he remembered the old days.

"But then things changed after his father died, and after graduation, he went back to Kaer Arc to lead his people. His Team went their separate ways and he settled down with Diana and had some Kids…kind of like us?" he pulled out a picture of Team STRQ as he gazed at his friends and loved ones.

"Though I guess…not entirely?" an uncomfortable silence drifted between them as they stared at the Mother that ran away, and the Mother that sadly passed away.

"But, enough of this depressing topic. I have a present for you. It just came for you in the mail…" he opened up a long box and she felt her eyes widen, then a weight drop into her stomach as she looked at the mechanical arm that lay inside.

"State of the Art Atlas Tech. I thought I was going to have to pull some strings to get you one. But seems Ironwood already planned to give you this, I guess it's his way of apologising for accusing you of what happened during the Tournament. Try it on," he smiled before he looked at his daughter and noticed her sombre expression.

"You okay sweetie?"

She looks back up as she nods. "Yeah, um…listen I'm not feeling too great right now. I'm going to go…do something," she got up and turned to leave. But Tai placed a hand on her shoulder as they stood in silence.

"Listen…I know this is a lot for you to take in, and I can't even begin to imagine what you are going through…but I can promise you things will get better, you just need to give it time." She looked back over her shoulder at his soft face, while also gazing at the metal arm in the box.

She gently removed herself from his grip and walked out the door, leaving the father to look sadly at his daughter while also staring at the metal arm in the box.

Yang stood outside as she looked up at the blue sky. The small white clouds drifted overhead as she breathed in a calming breath. The clouds above reminded her of the ones that floated over Kaer Arc as her mind drifted back to nearly a month ago, as she remembered the last time she saw her baby sister and Jaune.

* * *

Six Weeks Ago – Kaer Arc

* * *

The clouds passed by her window as Yang looked out the port side view of the airship. The trip much smoother than last time, as she and her sister rode in on a more commercial airline compared to the militarised version on her first trip to the Fort. She looked over to her left as her father and sister sat on the opposite side reverse seats as Ruby gazed out at the valley of forest trees in awe and anticipation.

They were on their way to Kaer Arc to visit their friends after receiving news that Jaune had finally woken up from his coma. Of course, Ruby wanted to get there as soon as she could to see her first Beacon Friend as soon as possible, so she begged and pleaded with her dad to take them there. He immediately complied and after a quick call to the Fort, they sent over a transport and headed straight for Kaer Arc.

Yang herself originally wanted to stay behind to look after the house, as she claimed. But both her Uncle and Father tried to convince her it was best for her to get out of the house since she had been there for the past five months.

She tried to argue against it, but one Ruby/Zwei pout later, she got dragged along the trip.

Though deep down, she admitted that she did want to see how everyone else was fairing. Especially Jaune after his unorthodox resurrection. While she wasn't awake for his resurrection, she had heard from Ruby how painful it was as the latter was with him during his coma.

It got her a little curious how he would react afterwards and how he would cope with it.

Similarly, Tai was hoping that having Yang see how the young Arc was fairing would help her deal with the loss of her arm through bonding with someone who's lost five months of his life. Hopefully, it might even help her out of her own funk.

"We're here!"

The sudden cry from her sister snapped her out as she watched the fortress come into view. She never got to truly appreciate the view last time due to dealing with the trauma of losing her arm and partner. But now she was better able to view the large fortress in all its splendour.

This ancient fortress carved into the side of a mountain continued to be a symbol of dedication and ingenuity. However, the sight of the fortress just brought back terrible memories of sitting alone in a room while she lashed out at the world for taking her arm and her partner.

She would rather not relive those moments of her life.

However, she looked over to her sister as knew how important this trip was to her since Jaune had died, came back and went into a coma. She wanted to know the moment he woke up so that she could see him again. So, she suppressed her grief for her sister's sake…for now.

The airship landed softly on the platform as its passengers departed the shuttle and were met by Diana and Roland as they greeted the Xia Long/Rose Family.

"Tai, it's been too long. Qrow it's good to see you again under less…stressful circumstances," Diana greeted the pair as she embraced both male huntsmen. Yang didn't pay attention as she was too busy looking around at the Fort.

"It's good to see you too Diana. Roland, glad to see you as well." Tai greeted the blond man as they shook hands.

"Yes, it's good to see you too, Tai. How has Signal been? I heard you lecture there part-time." Tai chuckled as he scratched the bridge between his lip and nose.

"Yeah, it's a good job and it puts food on the table. The students are still with their parents at the moment for they are concerned if something might happen to Signal like it did Beacon. Seeing as we are so close to the mainland after all." Roland nodded.

"I see, I can understand their concerns. If need be, I can send one of my daughters to reassure them if you want?" he asked as Qrow shrugged.

"Couldn't hurt?" the veteran huntsman said as Ruby subtly pulled on his cloak. "Oh, yeah. Little red wants to see your son, heard he woke up recently." Ruby blushed as Roland and Diana looked at the small Huntress in training.

"Of course, forgive us we were just catching up on old times. Yes, Jaune is awake and will be more than very happy to see you. He's in the rehabilitation centre, his body needs to regain its strength after being comatose for so long," Diana said as she gestured to the guards.

"These men will escort you," the men nodded as they escorted the two siblings further into the Fort. "Now, let's discuss the security measures of Vale…" their voice drifted off as Yang and Ruby were escorted into the fort.

Yang looked around at the hallway as they passed by the many portraits and suits of armours that decorated the hall. Each portrait depicted a specific battle in the Arc family history. One of which showed the fortress itself in flames as a brave woman stood before a horde of Grimm with nothing but a spear in one hand and a fire covered sword in the other.

An inscription on the portrait read as followed...

'The Decisive moment of Kaer Arc and the final battle of Joan Arc – Mother of Cornelius Arc and Bravest Warrior of the Arc Clan'

Yang never got the chance to look at all these pieces of art during her first stay as she was holed up in her room for most of the time until her father came to retrieve her and Ruby.

The two continued walking until they reached the medical centre as the walls slowly turned from a fortress stone to pristine white walls and directional charts. The guards soon led them to the rehabilitation wing as they opened the door for them. Inside they immediately saw Jaune and Pyrrha as the latter aided the boy in being able to walk again.

His waist was secured by a harness as he took one tentative step forward after the other with shaky legs. Pyrrha was by his side as she kept a vigil watch over him. To the left of the room were Ren and Nora as they too tried to support their recovering leader. But stepped aside to allow Pyrrha to help him.

Nora instantly noticed them as a wide smile grew on her face. "Ruby! Yang!" she called out as she ran over and embraced the small huntress in a big hug, while Yang just managed to avoid the overly happy Valkyrie.

"Nora! Can't-Breath!" Ruby managed to squeak out before she was dropped to the floor.

"Oops, sorry." She apologised sheepishly as she helped the poor girl up.

Jaune and Pyrrha turned as they smiled at the two. "Hey guys," Jaune called out as his arms and legs wobbled shakily before Pyrrha and Ren grabbed a hold of him and gently moved him to his wheelchair. He thanked the two as Pyrrha pushed him over to the Ruby and Yang.

"Jaune, I'm so glad you're alright, you had me so worried," Ruby said as she gently hugged the boy who smiled and raised a shaking arm around her.

"Me too, Ruby. I'm sorry I made you worry like that," she nodded as she wiped a small tear from her eye.

"You better be, because the next time you do something like that, Pyrrha and I will kick your ass." She said as Pyrrha nodded, remembering the small phone call they had a week ago to let them know that Jaune was awake.

Yang silently watched the five of them interact with each other, despite what had happened to them five months ago. She looked at her arm as she shook her head and grinned. "So how has it been living here? Anything interesting I should know about?" she asked as she tried to put a brave face on.

Ruby glanced at her sister as she could clearly tell that she was just putting on a face to not let them worry about her. But it was a step that would hopefully help her get out of her funk. Ren and Nora seemed to notice this as well as they know what it was like to lose something close to them.

"Well, other than one incident before with Pyrrha helping Jaune bath, nothing much really," Jaune and Pyrrha's face instantly blushed red as three sets of eyes were turned to both red teens. Ruby's face glowing bright red as Yang grinned.

"Ohoho~, what's this then? Something you two want to explain?" Yang asked as she leaned towards the blushing pair.

"N-Nothing! Nothing happened! Jaune's mother asked me to help Jaune because he can't move his body! Nora, why?!" Pyrrha pleaded with the girl who only bopped the top of her head and stuck her tongue out like it was a whoopsie-daisy moment. It was a little funny after all, seeing how red both of them were after Pyrrha basically had to wash nearly all of his body. And that did not include the hot water.

They never knew it was actually an elaborate prank by Jaune's mother and grandmother to get them closer together.

"Embarrassing moments aside, how are you guys going. I'm a little out of the loop since I woke up," Jaune asked as Ruby nodded.

"Well, a lot of things happened. Weiss went back to Atlas, and we haven't had any contact with her since then. Even though the CCT network is back up and running, her father is not letting anyone talk to her…but since then uncle Qrow's been training me more in case something like this happens again. Though he still thinks I need to learn hand-to-hand combat," Jaune nodded.

"It would be a good idea, you were pretty defenceless against Cinder when she disarmed you." she sheepishly looked away as she remembered how she got easily disarmed by the injured Fall Maiden. "What about Weiss, I heard she was here but then went back to Atlas. Have you guys heard anything from her?" Ruby shook her head.

"No, even with the CCT back up we haven't heard a thing from Weiss. I know she's alright, but I'm still worried about her. Her father didn't look like a very nice man from the way he threatened to cut off supplies to the fort. I just hope nothing bad happens to her." Jaune nodded as he remembered hearing from his father the arrogance of Jacques Schnee.

If for the fact that he managed to tick off his own father was any indication, then the man must be very annoying to deal with.

"What about Blake? What happened to her?"

Jaune instantly realised he screwed up when a deathly silence drowned the rehab centre as the remaining members of RWBY reacted differently as Ruby looked down sadly, while Yang's eyes momentarily flashed red. Everyone got a little nervous, Ruby in particular, as they all saw the rage that was slowly building up in her sister.

"Well, the thing is after the Invasion, Blake kind of-"

"Left" all eyes turned to Yang as she glared at them.

"She's gone, okay. Don't beat around the bush for my sake. She made her choice and she ran away from everyone. For all, I care she can be on the moon." Her tone was laced with anger and grief as she leaned back against the wall.

"Yeah…Blake ran away after you came back to life, and we have no idea where she is. We don't know why she did, but I'm sure whatever she is doing she has must have a reason for it," Yang scoffed at that as she turned her head from the group.

"I'm…I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-" Jaune began before Yang held her hand up to stop him.

"It's fine Vomit-boy. It's just…another thing I have to live with," she looked down at the sump of her arm as everyone saw the turmoil that was raging in her over her partner's absence and her missing arm. It was clearly a lot for the girl and she was still dealing with it. Jaune looked down at his own chest as the scars from his battle still lingered.

"Hey guys, is it alright if I talk to Yang for a bit? Just for a moment." Jaune asked as they stared in confusion before nodding.

Finally, it was only the two blonds left behind as Yang and Jaune stared at each. An uncomfortable silence lingered between them before Yang chuckled a little as she stared at him.

"I know what you're trying to do and it's not going to work," Jaune raised an eyebrow.

"You think that you're going to get me to open up about what happened to me and make me pour out all of my feelings about my arm and my partner because you and I both suffered the same thing. I lost an arm, you lost five months and your life…but it's not going to work," she sat down on a bench as she looked at her remaining hand.

"I get it all right. It's just an arm, I'll get over it…but no one really understands what I'm going through. None of them understand that it's not just about me losing my arm, or even Blake running away…It's…It's just something I have to do on my own. Something not even you will understand…there are just somethings that can't be fixed."

"…You're right…I don't understand…"

She looked up surprised as the boy looked at his laps. "I'm not going to lie and say I know what you're going through, because truthfully I don't think I've suffered as much as you have. When you really think about I got lucky. Sure, I died, but I came back to life and not many people have that chance." He opened his medical shirt as he revealed his scars.

She cringed at the scars as the memories of his battle lay bare before her.

"According to the medics, I shouldn't even be alive right now. Most of my organs should be completely destroyed and I should be breathing and eating through a tube for the rest of my life. But Grandma says that Final Inheritance combined with my aura healed all my damaged organs, bones and even my brain. The only thing I have left to show my pain are these scars."

"But I'm alive and I still have my partner, so I'm grateful for that…but that's not why I asked you to talk to you…" he leaned forward in his chair as he stared.

"Yang…I wanted to let you know, that this isn't going to keep you down. That the Yang I know is still in there and that she will come back when you are ready, no matter how long it takes…" she stared at him before looking solemnly at her stump.

"…But what if she never comes back? What if the Yang you know is gone forever?" Jaune shook his head at this.

"Nothing is ever truly gone. She's still apart of you, and that's what's going to get you through this…trust me, I know what I'm talking about." He smiled as she processed what he said and softly smiled at his sincere words.

"Besides…" she looked up as he smirked.

"I can't be the only blond left in our group of friends having fun. It'd be boring without you and there's no other blond that I know of… Well there's Sun but he's all the way back in Haven I think and he's not as much fun as you?" he pondered as he wondered where the blond monkey boy went off to.

Yang stared before she started giggling and holding a hand over her mouth. "You are such a dork!" she managed to say between snickers as the boy chuckled.

"Yeah, but that's just part of my charm," she snickered even louder as both scarred blonds laughed in the isolated ward. She wiped a tear from her eye as nodded her head.

"Thanks, Vomit boy. It's hasn't fully healed, but this has helped…thanks," Jaune just nodded as he wheeled himself over and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Anytime Yang, anytime…"

A comfortable silence drifted between them as Yang looked at the boy before her. A few months ago, she once considered him to be a bit of a weirdo but a good guy nonetheless. If not for the fact that he was friends with her sister. But now she saw him a little differently as he seemed to have this newfound strength burning in his eyes. A drive to never give up no matter how hard life threw him down and she wondered…

Will she ever have that back?

She smiled as she looked at the boy. "Now," he said as he placed his hands on the wheels. "Let's head off to the dining hall. I'm starving and could go for a snack. Plus, I need to make sure Nora hasn't eaten all the pancake batter… _again_ " he started to wheel himself along slowly as his muscles still hadn't fully recovered yet.

Yang rolled her eyes as she grabbed the back of the wheel cheer. "You steer I push, deal?" Jaune smiled as he nodded. The two helped each other down the hall as both of them were scarred and broken. But slowly, they would recover.

Slowly they would rise again.

* * *

Present Day / Xiao Long Residence

* * *

Yang looked at her one remaining hand as the light peeked between her fingers. Jaune's words resonating through her again as she remembered that small moment back at Kaer Arc. He said that he didn't understand her pain, but she had a feeling he knew more about her pain then he realised. The only difference was that he got back up before her.

Even right now he and her baby sister were off on some save the world mission if her last text was anything to go on.

And yet here she was, wallowing in her own grief. She gripped her fist as knew what she had to do.

Tai was putting away some of the shopping as he heard Yang, presumably, enter the house. Followed by the sounds of a mechanical attachment that drew his attention. He looked into the living room as Yang just finished putting the metal arm on her body.

She flexed the mechanical fingers as she felt strange moving them without the familiarity of flesh and bone. She then gripped it into a fist as she turned around and smirked at her father, who smiled back in return.

The universe may have kicked the little dragon down to earth. But the little dragon was going to pick herself right back up and then punch the universe in the face with all her might. Then she was going to find her sister, give her a piece of her mind for running away and then help her stop whatever it was that they were after.

No matter what

* * *

Phantom Cargo Hold – Same Time

* * *

Jaune stood in the centre of the makeshift arena as he and Pyrrha practised their combat abilities. They had been training for over two hours now as Jaune need to keep practising on regaining his strength and attempt to master his Semblance.

Despite the ease in which Jaune had been able to use his 'Semblance' during the battle of Beacon he had not been able to summon the suit of armour since. Other than that time with the Midgard Serpent, he hadn't been able to actively summon it into battle at will. Pyrrha thought that it was merely a mental block and that he just needs to practise more to fully unlock its capabilities.

After all, even the great Pyrrha Nikos didn't fully master her semblance until her teens.

Jaune moved forward as he sent a flurry of jabs left and right, as the duellist evaded each strike and blocked those she could not evade with her forearms. She ducked under a head strike as she jabbed into his ribs – careful not to hurt the boy but enough to make him see his mistake.

He left his side open, an amateur mistake.

He stumbled back as he held his ribs, his breath hissing from his nostrils as he shook off the jab and brought up his guard. he nodded as he signalled her to continue. The champion nodded as she quickly moved into his range and started fighting him. Her attacks precise and quick as evident to the years she spent in the Mistralian Combat Arena compared to her partner who only had a year at most.

But the boy had a will, determination and an amazing strength that surpassed even her own. And she couldn't be prouder of the boy.

Jaune swiped left and right and blocked with his arms as Pyrrha did the same. Their bodies moving in an intricate dance around the cargo hold. Theor bodies moving in a rhythm that slowly drowned themselves from the rest of the world. Pyrrha instantly grappled the boy as she flipped him over her shoulder and into the matted floor. Only for Jaune to sweep under her and knock her off her feet. He then straddled the top of her as he pinned her arms to the mat.

An awkward silence lingered in the air as the two stayed in their positions all the while blushing at the intimate contact.

"Well…" Jaune finally broke the silence as he smirked. "Looks like I finally beat the unbeatable girl-!" he never got to finish as he was then flipped over and pinned to the floor with his arm behind his back.

"…Never mind."

She smirked as she leaned down to the boy's head. "Almost Jaune, but you are getting better," he nodded even though he had his arm behind his back.

"So…are you going to let me go now?" she nodded as she let the boy go as he rolled his shoulders. "I guess I still have a way to go, huh?" he asked as Pyrrha smiled.

"A little, but you're getting there Jaune. All right, now that we've got the hand to hand combat down let's work on your semblance, okay?" She suggested as he nodded.

He stands up as he walks into the centre of the room. He breathes a calming breath and tries once again to summon the power that dwelled deep inside of him. He imagined the armour that coated his body months ago and the feeling of his powers being amplified by its effects. Rivers of white began to form around him as the armour slowly took shape around him. His teeth gritting as he focused all of his willpower into summoning the power.

But then the armour started glitching before shattering like glass and he fell to his knees.

"Jaune!" Pyrrha instantly by his side before he raised a hand.

"I'm okay! I'm okay! …but looks like I'm still not able to summon it," he said dejectedly as he got up and moved over to one of the crates and sat down. His shoulders slacked as he was disheartened about summoning his semblance. Pyrrha taking a seat beside him as she tried to comfort him.

"Don't worry Jaune, you get it eventually. You've already unlocked the power that was inside of you. Now you just have to learn how to wield it. Trust me, it took me years before I could properly wield my own semblance and I promise you that you will master it. It's just going to take some time…" Jaune nodded as he looked away.

"I know, you've told me this before…but I've been thinking and the thing is…I don't know if this really is my Semblance?" Pyrrha looked confused as she stared at the boy.

"What are talking about, of course, it's your semblance. A Semblance is a reflection of your soul, a power that is born with you to give you strength. It is a part of you, a part of your own soul. How could it not be your semblance?"

"I don't know, I don't even know I how to describe it. When I used it back at the tower months ago I felt like it was a part of me. I could feel that power coursing through me and giving me strength – along with Final inheritance…but at the same time I felt…strange?" she raised an eyebrow as he looked at his hands.

"I felt like the armour was separate from me, but something I've known my whole life. I don't know how to describe it, but it was like I was using someone else's power, yet at the same time I felt like it was my own. Like it was a second Semblance or something? I don't know…Pyrrha, is it possible for someone to have two semblances?" Pyrrha shook her head at this.

"No, I've heard of people have different effects with their semblance that depended on their uses and I've heard how rare it is for Hereditary Semblances like Weiss. But as far as I know, there is no such thing as someone having two semblances. A semblance is a reflection of your character and your soul…"

"So then…what does mine say about me?"

A silence blanketed the two as they wondered about the anomaly of Jaune's semblance and the strange armour that had protected him months ago. Wondering if the Armour truly was part of his semblance…or something else? But before they could ponder any further Coco, Ren and Ruby arrived in the elevator as they walked over to the pair.

"Hey Captain, we need to talk," she said as the three of them walked to the appointed captain.

"What's up?"

"We need to talk about our rations," she said as she held up a silver plastic bag that had Atlas MRE's stamped on them.

"I thought we have plenty of MRE's in the storage area? ...Don't tell me Nora got in there and ate it all?" he asked as Ruby shook her head.

"We wish, the problem is that we've been eating this stuff for the past few weeks and…well…" she tried to find the right words.

"There terrible." Ren's usual forward approach saved Ruby from stammering on. "While the rations have sustained us for the past few weeks, some of the crew are finding it harder to actually eat this stuff," Ren informed as he too had enough of the bland food.

"It's bland, tasteless and I'm pretty sure it has been processed so many times that it has no actual food in it," Coco looked at the food in disgust. "Not even Nora wants to eat this…stuff?"

* * *

Nora in the dining hall groaned as she looked at the pale yellow 'food' in front of her as she hesitated to touch the food.

* * *

Jaune hummed to himself as he thought about it. "I can see your point. Truth be told I'm actually getting sick of this stuff myself and I could really go for some actual food. What about you Pyrrha?" he asked his partner as Pyrrha nodded.

"I think having some proper food would be good for us. While MRE's are essential for long missions, it's important to eat some actual healthy food once in a while." She said as Coco nodded.

The bag then started to squirm as she dropped it on the ground in fright and it scurried away into air ducts.

The five stared at the air ducts as none of them had the words to say.

"…Okay, we are _definitely_ getting some real food. Penny, what's the closest village?" he asked the ceiling before Penny's voice echoed in the hangar.

"The closest village is Higanbana, a large settlement that's famous for its local tavern that caters to travellers, Huntsman and traders along the main roads. According to Atlas reports, there should also be numerous information brokers taking refuge at the town." Jaune nodded at this.

"Perfect, we stop to get food and we can get more information about the traitor at Haven. Tell the crew to get ready and land us just outside the town, you're in charge until we get back." Jaune said as the A.I. Huntress nodded.

"Understood captain, let me know if there is any trouble and I will send in the Calvary," she said as Ruby looked confused.

"We have a Calvary?" she asked as Jaune shook his head.

* * *

A short while later the large group of teens entered the tavern as they prepared to finally eat some real food after feasting on MRE's for the past two weeks. The group slowly morphing into a laughing bunch as they shared tales and stories of their brief time at Beacon.

Coco telling embarrassing stores about Velvet, Nora demonstrating the proper use of a watermelon mallet and Ruby telling funny times with her team. It was a moment of fun and peace that many wished would last forever.

Above them, however, was a dusty old crow as he watched the assembled team below him.

It had taken Qrow two weeks to finally track down the group of teens as he found it extremely hard to keep up with them – even with his shapeshifting powers. The only reason he managed to follow them was thanks to a tracer he planted into Ruby's symbol that she clipped to her chest.

He could have just snuck on board with the rest of them back at Takefu Village, but he didn't want to risk anything thanks to his _Unfortunate_ Semblance.

They had enough to deal with without his problem getting them into more trouble. This was what he did best after all. Protecting the innocent from the shadows and keeping his niece safe.

Besides, he needed to keep an eye on the boy in case Salem tried anything.

He didn't know a lot about Salem, but what he knew from Ozpin she was a dangerous woman who did not take failure kindly. And with Beacon still standing and the Relic still safe, there was no telling how she would react. It was the first time in centuries that she had actually suffered a loss. There was no telling how she would react.

His thoughts were cut off as a drink was placed in front of him. "Oh, I didn't o—"

"From the woman upstairs. Red eyes. Said you wouldn't mind bottom shelf." The waitress said as he looked up to the balcony as a familiar sense came to the old veteran.

"Thanks"

"But I went ahead and gave you top. Lucky you." She told him as he watched the girl walk away with a pleased smirk. After she is gone, he looks through the two windows to see no one visible in the lobby of the inn.

"Yeah…lucky me" He takes his glass and heads upstairs as a family person meets him. Raven Branwen his older sister started at him from the table with her mask atop it.

"Hello, _brother_." She greeted as Qrow knew that tone in her voice. She wanted answers and knows she's going to get them. Qrow stares at her from the top of the stairs for a moment before moving to her.

" _Raven_." He greeted just as curtly as he pulls the chair that's beside her and drags it to a position across from her instead. With his hand on the back of the chair, he simply looks at her expectantly. Raven rolls her eyes and moves her mask to the side.

"So, what do you want?" he asks as he sat down on the chair.

"A girl can't just catch up with her family?"

"She can, but you're not. Now how 'bout we get on with it? Unless you plan on keeping these coming'?" He sets the glass down. "Though I must say I'm surprised to see you. Last time I saw you, you said that Beacon was going to fall. You must feel embarrassed when it didn't, huh? The Great Raven Branwen was wrong for once. Boy, that's something Tai would pay to hear." A cold glare meets his gaze as he smirked.

"I will not admit I was wrong, but I warned you that Ozpin would fail. Beacon may have survived, but Ozpin is gone, no doubt being reincarnated as we speak." Qrow shrugged his shoulders as he downed the drink.

"But that's not why I'm here."

"Of course, it's not…you want to know if _it_ is still safe." A silence drifted between them. "Well to answer your question, yes, it's safe. Still locked away in that Vault, but _the key_ has gone _missing_ and we haven't heard anything about a new one since." Raven looked away as she processed this.

"That's…unsettling. This was not what I expected to happen." Qrow shrugged as he sipped from his glass.

"Yeah well, you can thank the _Remnant Knight_ for that. He pulled a victory none of us could have achieved out of his ass and saved the day. No one saw it coming, especially not that Cinder chick. Don't know how Salem's going to react though, so we need to be careful…but why the hell do you care? I thought you wanted nothing to do with all this?" he asked as she folded her arms.

"I don't. I just want to know what we're up against." He narrowed his eyes.

"By We do you mean Us or the Tribe?" he asked as she merely stared at him.

"Of course, it's always been about the Tribe with you. Why are you still with them? They are nothing but murderers and thieves. We could really use your help, especially with how Beacon's turned out. We might actually have a chance at beating her," Raven shook her head.

"One Victory isn't going to change a thing, Qrow, and you know that. The tribe is our family, they raised us, you were the one who abandoned them to go fight off a war we can't possibly win. Beacon's Victory may have stopped her now, but you know what she is like. Vale is standing on weak legs and all it will take is one more push to send it over the edge. Then she will get her hands on the Relics and there will be nothing left to stop her." Qrow looked down to the group of children as they laughed at Nora's impression of Professor Port.

"I don't know, we have a kid on our side that beat the _Gates of Death_ , I think our chances are pretty good," Raven looked over to the boy as he laughed while Pyrrha chuckled on his shoulder.

"…So that's him, the Remnant Knight and the boy who cheated Death. I thought it was just a rumour, propaganda to spread hope amongst the settlements. There is no way someone like him beating something as powerful as Death." He shook his head at this as he looked at his reflection in the liquid.

"I was there, saw it with my own eyes. The kid came back from the Dead all right. Is was not like Ozpin but not in a natural way. He's something else, and I'm not sure what. For all, I know he could be our most powerful ally…or our greatest enemy if Salem got a hold of him," Raven looked at the boy as she listened to her brother's words.

Her gaze shifted over to Ruby, as she narrowed them at her silver eyes.

"…And what of Summer's daughter? Are you not worried about Salem finding out about her? Or her lineage?" he looked over as he gazed at his niece.

"The one good thing that did come out of all of this is that her powers and heritage are still hidden from Salem. So that means we have one last trick up our sleeves in case something happens…not really sure if I find that comforting…or concerning?" he drank from his glass as the woman sighed.

"If that's all you have, then I'll be on my way. I have a tribe to lead after all." She got up, grabbed her mask and prepared to leave until Qrow placed his hand on her mask.

"By the way, I saw what they did to Shion. That was some nasty work" she glared into his eyes as each searched them for information.

"The weak die and the strong thrive. That's always been our rule, Qrow, you know that. There was no way we couldn't have predicted the Grimm moving in as quickly as they did."

"I'm not talking about the Grimm and I'm not talking about you…" she gripped the mask before pulling it from his grasp. "If you have any information on the Spring Maiden, you have to tell us. With the Fall Maiden gone, we have no idea what will happen next. Because without her, we are all going to die,"

"And which we are you referring to? Because I have my own family I need to take care of, and it doesn't involve you." she began to walk away and draw her sword as she prepared to leave.

"…You know Yang lost her arm, right?" she stopped as silence drifted between them. "Of course, you know that, but have made no attempt to see her. You're on your way to winning mother of the year you know?" she glared at him.

"What's your point?" she asked.

"Nothing, I just find it funny how you talk about the tribe being your family…while ignoring your _real family_ ,"

Raven said nothing as she slashed the air before her and a red portal appeared. She stepped into it, never looking back at the unamused face of her brother, or the stunned face of the waitress behind him as she dropped her glass and caused him to look at her.

"Better make this one a double" he gestured as he wondered what would happen now between his sister and the fate of the world.

* * *

Meanwhile thousands of miles a young boy carries a pitchfork into the barn, which has loose bits of hay strung about the floor. He passes a sink with a mirror behind it, and something makes him pause and take a closer look. He sees his own reflection and lifts a lock of his hair as if expecting something different.

He leans forward and examines the mirror more closely.

"Hello?"

"Hello! I'm Professor Ozpin!" a voice booms out, that caused him to shriek in freight and sending him crashing backwards. The boy looks up at the sink and mirror from the floor of the barn, breathing heavily as he tried to process what the hell he just heard. When From outside the barn, a woman's voice calls out.

"Oscar? You be careful with those tools!" she called out as the boy looks between the mirror and his aunt as he lets out a sigh.

* * *

Omake: Something Oddly familiar

* * *

Jaune looked at the red strip down his arm as he wondered why Nora wanted this painted on the side of his armour. It looked cool, he didn't deny that, but he wondered why it was that she asked to paint it. But whenever he asked why all he got was her saying "Arc" and then he would reply afterwards "Nora".

It was the strangest thing, and not just her but everyone else on the ship too.

Pyrrha was down in engineering learning how to maintain the ship in a hope to make up to Penny what she did to her. But now whenever she cursed she used some word he never heard called Bosh'tet?

Although he didn't mind the skin-tight engineer suit she wore whenever she had to work in the engineering bay. He blushed whenever she bent over.

Cardin was in the garbage disposal area talking about war stories his father told him. Sky had taken residence in the cockpit, now talking to Penny and getting her to tell jokes, which often ended in a dark manner.

Ren was in the Life Support area, as he found the area to be oddly relaxing for him and was often found sitting at a table with his fingers laced together.

Fox would be found in the observation deck meditating with Yatsuhashi and Coco had taken up residence in the XO cabin on the Crew Deck. Turned out thought on her days off she liked to wear a catsuit around because it was comfortable and fashionable.

Needless to say, most of the guys on the ship and to cross their legs, other than Ren and Jaune who had Pyrrha and Nora to smack their shoulders.

Russel and Dove had also taken up engineering as they seemed to spend most of their time on the consoles and chatting about random stuff whenever he walked into the room. Velvet took up residence in the starboard section, mostly meditating and Nora just hangs out on the Cargo hold doing pull-ups.

"Ruby I really need to talk to you," Jaune said as he walked into the Main Battery on the Crew Deck. "Everyone's been acting really strange since we got this ship and I don't know what's going on." He walked up to the girl as she was on the console before turning around to look at him.

"The strangest thing though is that I feel like I've seen all this before. But I don't know where? Have you noticed anything?" he asked as the girl looked back at him and then at the console before saying.

"Can it wait for a bit, I'm in the middle of some calibrations."

Jaune's eye twitched as he sighed. Wondering what the hell was going on, on this ship. "Wait, when did you get a targeting visor?"

* * *

 **And Scene. Well here is the long-awaited Chapter XII of Remnant Knight. Sorry for the long wait, been busy with Work and University that I barely had a lot of time. But on the plus side, I got a proof-reader for my stories. D-Generation XX, who hopefully will fix up my mistakes and make the reading experience more pleasurable…is that the right word? Eh, he/she will sort it out.**

 **Anywho, thanks for reading and tell me what you all think? And Stay tuned for the Final Part of the RWBY centred Chapters in**

 **Chapter XIII: The Runaway**


	13. Chapter XIII: The Runaway

RWBY: The Remnant Knight

There are many paths in life, some that are set in stone and some that are in a state of flux...then there are the ones that defy the course of fate. This is one such path where destiny is defied, and the path of a Knight is forged in blood, steel and magic. This is the Rise of the Remnant Knight.

* * *

Chapter XIII: The Runaway

* * *

The smell of salt air and the sound of lapping waves brought a sense of tranquillity to Blake as she sat on the roof of her house and gazed out at the beaches of Menagerie. Her cat ears twitching occasionally to the sound of seagulls in the air and calm chatter from the streets below as she allowed herself to be lost in the small village of her home.

It had been six months since the former member of Team RWBY ran away from her friends and made her way back to Menagerie. The horrors she had seen, the truths that had been revealed and pain her friends had endured were too much for the girl. In another life she may have run away from them in guilt, thinking that her past with the White Fang had drawn them to the school and brought harm to everyone she cared for.

However, because of the revelation of Adam's manipulation had been broadcast she knew that was not the case. Now the White Fang was divided, sporadic and chaotic with no clear goal and many blurred lines. The White Fang may be facing its final days.

The fact of the matter, however, was that Adam was still out there – despite the fact he may or may not be working with Cinders allies – and was too dangerous to be left unchecked. There was no telling what he would do now. She needed to find a way to stop him before he brought further shame to her people.

She made a promise the day Jaune died, and she was not going to break it.

But instead of staying with her friends, she decided she needed to get away from everyone close to her from Beacon. In order to keep them safe.

Of course, she knew that it wasn't the whole reason she left, but it was what she told herself to stop the guilt. Guilt for not doing something to stop the White Fang from attacking her friends at Beacon. Guilt for getting them all dragged into her past mistakes and costing them parts of themselves…

And guilt for abandoning them afterwards.

Two of them were prime examples as Yang lost her arm against her old comrade – Adam Taurus – and Jaune who gave his life to reveal the truth of the invasion of Beacon. Sure, the White Fang was duped into following that woman Cinder, but the White Fang was still a part of her past and Adam was searching the school for _her_. Because she left him and his crusade against mankind. In his eyes she betrayed him.

That guilt had been eating her up inside ever since.

But she knew that eventually Adam would do something crazy and that would get everyone she ever cared about killed. So right now, she needed to find a way to stop him without bloodshed and get away from everything and get her mind straight. She needed to reorganise her resolve if she wanted to do something about the White Fang and the only place she could think of was her home of Kuo Kuana on Menagerie.

Menagerie – the homeland of the Faunus people.

It was an island that was given to them after the Great War for her people's contribution in fighting alongside the allies. But while many of the human's thought it was a just and fair reward, many of the Faunus saw it as a slap in the face. The island was covered in two-thirds desert and uninhabitable regions due to the dangerous wildlife that roamed its sands.

The place even translated to a zoo in the old tongue for crying out loud.

Too many this was an insult and believed they deserved better.

That they felt cheated by humanity and wanted fairer treatment. So, they joined up to fight in the Faunus Rights Revolution and managed to stop the humans from confiding them into one place. That was how the White Fang was formed. But whereas her father's leadership was meant to bring equality for both races, Adam's wanted to dominate overall as he believed humanity needed to suffer for what they did to them.

But now after the Invasion of Beacon, everything had changed.

The White Fang had become splintered and divided, with many of them leaving the organization for being deceived and blamed for Beacon's attack or denying the allegation and claimed it was just another lie the humans made to slander them.

The current leader – Sienna Khan – was struggling to hold the once proud organization together.

Sienna was one that turned the White Fang from a peaceful organization into an organised paramilitary that was not afraid to fight back when needed. Her tactics were brutal, and her strength was undeniable. She was the opposite of what her father was – the former leader – and for a time she believed she was what the White Fang needed.

However, that was as far as she allowed, as she believed that further provocation with humanity would only get them killed. All she wanted was for their kind to be treated with respect by humans and the only way she believed that was possible was through fear and strength. She was right in a way, they were treated better than before. But it had also caused tensions between them, a pressure that slowly built over the years waiting to burst.

But while she believed in violence only where necessary, there were those in the White Fang who believed they should go further than that. Such as Adam.

Adam… once she respected him as a friend, a mentor and once…something more.

She like others were blinded by his devotion to the White Fang and saw him as an Idol. Believing that he was right and that the Humans needed to pay for what they had done to their kind in the past. For placing them on an island that barely had enough to survive a settlement – let alone for an entire species and for using them as slaves long ago before the time of the Warrior King.

But after a while, she began to see him for what he truly was. A monster. He was a man willing to do whatever it took to make the world a better place, by making humanity pay for crimes committed by their ancestor's ages ago. To enslave them and humiliate them like they were. And in his crusade for 'Justice', he did not care who was caught in the crossfire. Not even the innocent. But because of his devotion and his drive, many saw him as a symbol of the White Fang and the hope for their kind.

After the invasion, however, he had gone from being a symbol in the eyes of their people to a pariah in a matter of minutes.

Cinder's confession and Adam's role in her plan had revealed his secret alliance with the one who truly orchestrated the attack. Not only that, but it confirmed that he had worked with a human to which many in the White Fang saw as a traitorous offence. While there were those that still followed and believed in him, many would now curse his or spit his name in spite. They believed he had gone against everything the White Fang had stood for and criticised him for his hypocrisy for hating humans yet working with one.

From she had heard over the grapevine this had caused Adam to become more…aggressive in the months following the Invasion.

She had known Adam to be an aggressive person during her time in the White Fang. But from what she heard his anger had become more unstable since the Invasion five months ago.

Many of his own followers were starting to question his leadership and his motives as they attempted to leave. But those who had attempted to leave were usually found days later strung up a tree with multiple and deep wounds in their bodies.

He had become more ruthless, more unhinged as he focused his attention on finding the one who betrayed him – still thinking she was alive – and make her suffer for humiliating him before the entire world. If he could not find her, however, he would find her allies. Which meant he had increased his attacks on Dust Shipments and even settlements in the hopes of finding the two that had escorted her on the day they meet nearly a year ago.

What he didn't know however was that they were far out of his reach and all his actions were bringing further harm to their cause and their people. He was getting out of control and would no doubt even attack his own brethren thinking they had betrayed him like everyone else in his life.

He was nothing more than a bull blinded by the red rage of his hatred.

She sighed as she curled her legs to her chest and thought about all the times she admired the man. All the time she wasted trying to follow his insane path of revenge until it was almost too late. And all the time she wasted when she could have been with her family…or friends.

A memory of Team RWBY appeared in her head as she quickly shook it off lest the guilt started seeping in.

She looked out at the wide ocean and the beach that surrounded her home. She could never have imagined that she would find her way back home. To be back on the island she swore to never return to. Especially after the falling out and the argument she had with her parents before she decided to remain with the White Fang.

A mistake she still regretted to this day.

She was just glad her parents were happy she was alive and had long since forgiven her for her words years ago. She smiled softly as she remembered the warm embrace of her father and the long talk they had afterwards.

"Hey Blake!" a voice called out as she looked over the edge to see Sun, the leader of team SSSN as he grinned at her.

Despite her apparent reluctance of him following her, she was secretly glad he was here, seeing as he wanted to help her despite everything that happened. It made her realise her mistake of leaving her friends and hoped that her action would make up for it somehow.

"Come on, your dad says its time. The Shuttles here," she nodded as she got off the roof and remembered what had transpired a week ago.

* * *

One Week Ago – Belladonna Homestead

* * *

Blake stood on the second story deck outside her father's office as the broken moon shined over the house. Blake stared at her father's door, beside which hangs an empty birdcage. Memories of a younger version of herself happily going in and sitting on her father's lap passed over her mind. But that was years ago and much had changed.

She raised her hand tentatively to knock on the large wooden door but hesitates as she felt afraid of what she would say and what would be said.

"You know, you can always go in and say hi. He only looks intimidating, but he's just a big kitten." She turns to see her mother as she is standing with a tray and tea in her hands.

"I-I don't want to bother him, it can wait" she started to turn before her mother stopped her.

"A father's never too busy for his daughter."

"Not all of my friends would agree with you on that." A particular white dressed girl drifted in her memories as Kali walks over and kisses her daughter on the cheek before she hands her the tray. She accepts it but is a bit taken aback by being handed it.

"Here."

"What? Where are you going?"

"You've never been very talkative, but that boy you brought home loves to run his mouth. I want to hear more about the adventures of Team RWBY and that Jaune fellow he keeps talking about." she walks away as her footsteps become less audible and Blake is left standing there holding the tea.

"Kali? Is that you, dear?" Blake gives a nervous start of surprise when she hears his voice. The tray shakes in her hands, and she lets out a quiet whine. She then summons whatever courage she could scrounge up and prepares to walk into the room. Ghira straightens some paperwork on his desk. The porch door slides open and Blake steps inside.

"Uh, hey dad." The nervousness in her voice ever presents even as she tried to mask it from her father. Ghira fairing no better as he was surprised to see his daughter instead of his wife.

"Blake! Well, this is a pleasant surprise. Please, come sit." Father and daughter both move to the oversized coffee table and lounge furniture, as Blake sets the tea set at the end where her father sits. "Don't worry, I've got it. Sit down, sit down." He gestured to the seat as she slowly sat down.

"I don't want to keep you if you're—" he shook his head as he grabbed the teapot from the tray.

"Nonsense, I've been cooped up in here all day. I could use the distraction. They say that the Grimm is our greatest enemy. But between you and me it's paperwork," she stifled a small nervous chuckle as she sat down and he pours her a cup.

"You still take sugar, right?

"Oh, actually, uh –" pulling back nervously

"Oh! Sorry!

"No, no, no, no, it's fine."

"Oh, here, take this one."

"No, really. It's, it's no big deal.

"You sure?

"Positive.

"Old habits, I suppose." Father and daughter sit in awkward silence as neither of them could find the exact words to say to each other. It had been years since they saw each other, and they did not part on the best of terms. There was a lot to say but none could find the words to say.

"So, is it... warm... in Vale?" she gives her father a questioning look as she looks down at her outfit. "It's just... it seems like your outfit doesn't cover very much." Blake looks down at herself and crosses her arms.

"It covers plenty." She reiterates as the man shuffles nervously in his seat.

"I mean, a little more armour might help. Don't you think?" he gestures to his own armour as she glared slightly.

"I'm fine. I don't need armour. I can look after myself. Besides, you are not one to talk. Mum has told me about all the times in your youth when you would just throw your shirt off regardless of the armour you had on." The panther Faunus chuckled slightly as he remembered his more rebellious youthful days.

"Yeah, I see... and I know you can protect yourself. I'm sorry I just worry that's all." He sets down his own cup as Blake's expression saddens, and she looks away, bowing her head.

"Why?"

"Hmm?" he looks up confused as she keeps her head facing the ground.

"Why would you say that? How can you still love me after what I did? The things I said and the choices I made. How you can you still say you love me when I don't deserve it." Ghira sighs as he moves to be beside his daughter, going down to one knee and putting a hand on her back.

"Blake, your mother and I will always love you. You're our daughter, nothing you could do would ever make us stop loving you. And there is nothing that you can ever say to change that." she looks up as tears start to streak down her face.

"But you were right! I shouted at you and yelled at you! But you were right! I called you cowards! How can you just forgive me so easily?! I should have left the White Fang with you and Mom. I should've listened to you, and I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry!" Remorsefully, she lowers her head closer to her father as he holds her in his arms.

"It's okay. We never held anything against you, and I never feared you would fail. The only thing I ever feared was that you would fall down the wrong path, and I am so proud to see you haven't."

"But I did! I was-!" he stopped her again.

"And you pulled yourself out. You came back. There aren't many who possess that kind of strength and even fewer that have the courage to face their demons again. Vale, Mountain Glenn, Beacon - you confronted the White Fang time after time. You showed the kind of courage I wish I possessed now. Maybe if I did I wouldn't have lost the White Fang and it wouldn't have turned out the way it is now." She shook her head.

"I didn't do it alone."

"No, you didn't. Which is why I wanted to ask you... why did you leave Vale? Why did you leave your friends behind? From the way you spoke you seemed to care about them greatly." She looked away as she clenched her fists.

"I... I needed to keep them safe. After the invasion, Yang's arm and Jaune's death then rebirth I just needed to get as far away from them as I could to protect them from my past. I know that Adam attacking the school was only part of that woman's plan. But he was also searching for me. He had heard and seen me at Beacon. He targeted those I cared for because of my affiliation with them because I betrayed him. I turned my back on him and he has hated me for it ever since. It's the only way to keep them safe."

Ghira looked at his daughter as he continued to hold her close. "Blake, I know there's nothing I can say that can possibly make any of this better. Yes, Adam did attack the school and yes, he may have been looking for you. But do you honestly think he wouldn't have attacked school if you weren't there?" she shook her head.

"I've known Adam since he was young too, and I've known for a long time that boy always had a powerful hatred for humanity that I have never seen in anyone in my life. He would have attacked that school whether you were there or not. That woman on the monitors only gave him the opportunity that had been long waiting for; the chance to attack the humans he hates. And your friends, even if you didn't know them they still would have been hurt in the battle."

"But because you were there you managed to save your friend's life. She may have lost her arm, but she still has her life." He made her look up as he smiled softly at her. "From what you told me, Adam would have killed her if you hadn't been there. Would you have preferred she had died that day?" she instantly shook her head at this.

"No! I would never-!" he placed a finger to her lips as he stooped her.

"Then stop worrying about what you couldn't do and start thinking about what you can do now." She looked away as he turned her head back.

"I know that part of the reason you came back to us was to run away from what happened. But I know that deep down you want to do something. Just like that boy did to save Vale. It may not be as grand as what he accomplished. But you are still a smart and amazing person, Blake. And I know you can achieve what I could not…" he smiled at her.

"You're our daughter, after all, …and that already makes you the greatest person I know,"

Blake looked away as she thought about her father's words. He was right she originally planned to run home to get away from the White Fang and everything to sort out her life. But deep down inside her, she knew that she couldn't just walk away from everything. Jaune didn't and he managed to save all of them and reveal the White Fang's corruption. While she didn't know a lot about him during their time at Beacon, she knew that he wasn't the type of person to give up.

So, neither would she.

She smiled as she looked up at her father, "Thanks, dad…I needed this" she said as he embraced her close.

"No problem, my little kitten" he spoke as she blushed at her old nickname as shook her head even while she had a smile on her face. Glad to know that their relationship wasn't as strand as she feared it would be and hoped that now they could do something about the White Fang. The only question was…how?

Behind them, the porch door opened inward as Sun barges into the room "Sun?! What are you doing in here?!" she asked as the boy bows.

"D'yuh! Whoa! Sorry to interrupt this tender family moment! But, uh, your Mum said it was important!" the monkey boy said as he brushed himself off. Ghira still glared at the boy, not liking the obvious affections he had for his daughter. But the mention of his wife caused some concern.

"She said someone was calling for you, Mister Ghira, someone named…Sienna I think?" Kali didn't seem happy to see her. He shivered remembering the cat-like glare she made when she saw the woman on the phone.

Sacry.

Both former members jumped slightly at this as they looked at each other. Sienna had made it very clear a long time I ago that she no longer wanted any assistance from Ghira as she took over the White Fang. She was a prideful woman and never questioned her choices. It was the reason that many in the White Fang elected her to be the leader. But for her to be making the effort to call him first.

Something was going on.

Ghira nodded as he stood up. "Tell Kali I'll take the call in my office. Thank you, Sun" he said as the boy brightened up slightly. "I still don't like you thought." He slumped at this but nodded as he went off to tell the mother the news.

"Blake, do you want to be here for this? You don't have to if you want to, I just wanted –!" she stopped him this time as shook her head.

"I am okay, I…I need to hear this. But I doubt she would want to talk to me or allow me to be seen with you." He nodded as he gestured to the rafters, knowing that from up there she would be able to hear them. She nodded as she had done similar actions when she was a child.

She leapt up as he pressed a few keys on her desk. The shutters closed as he sat down in his seat, and a screen appeared before him. While Menagerie never had the strongest connection to the CCT Network, they were still capable of getting a strong enough signal out and thanks to the repairs to the Network they were once again reconnected to the world.

On the screen a tiger Faunus appeared as she sat in a rather large and extravagant office as she had a rather surprised look on her. "Ghira, I didn't think you would answer my call…thank you," he raised an eyebrow at this.

"A thank you? Not something I would have ever thought you were capable Sienna. Glad to see that leadership has mellowed your personality a bit." She glared but shook it off.

"I see you're still sore about losing the White Fang to me," he shook his head.

"The people chose you. That was why we set up the White Fang in the first place. To let our people, have a voice and to choose our paths. They chose you after I failed, I hold no remorse about that. But I heard recently that you're having a hard time keeping order. But of course, that can't be the case for the High Leader, right?" she shook her head.

"And there is that sharp tongue of yours. You always were better with your _words_ then your _actions, Ghira_. Maybe if you spent less time debating and more time being decisive the White Fang would still be listening to you." He glared as he crossed his arms.

"Is there a reason you decided to call me or was it to get into another shouting match? This would be our tenth one in the past six years…" Sienna glared before she sighed and folded her arms over her lap.

"…I need your help,"

Ghira actually had to blink in order to process what he had just heard. Sienna, the Sienna Khan, his once closest ally and childhood friend had just asked for his help. He never knew her to ask for help, even if she was up against twenty Beowolves with nothing but a pistol and a dagger.

Blake herself was slightly stunned as she had never heard the woman on the phone sound so…vulnerable?

"Uh…I'm sorry I think the communication lines are still buggy, but it sounded like you just said _help_? You've never asked for help in your life. Not even when you took over the White Fang from me." She hung her head.

"I know…but quite frankly I need your help. The White Fang has been spiralling out of control since the invasion. Adam's foolishness has put everything in jeopardy. Membership is at an all-time low, many of the young blood is leaving while the old guard is calling me incompetent because they felt we had been used by humans again. Even though I knew nothing of this deal, and many of our own people are now spitting in our direction."

"I'm aware of that." She looked slightly surprised at that. "I still have contacts within the White Fang, you know that. I know what's been going on for a while now," she nodded.

"Then you also know that It doesn't help that Adam is killing anyone attempting to leave, even in his own faction. He claims to be culling the weak and the traitors, and those in his faction still see him as a saviour and have become dangerously religious. Our people once saw us a symbol…now they think we're a joke to them." Ghira sighed as he processed this.

"Are you really surprised? You and I both knew that Adam was always prone to reckless behaviour. The Invasion was something you should have foreseen. Not only that but it was you that he idolised for arming the White Fang in the first place. What did you think was going to happen when you turned it into a paramilitary group, that there wouldn't be consequences? I know you're a smart woman, Sienna, but that was painfully obvious." She glared at him for that remark and bared her claws.

"It's not like we had much of a choice, Ghira! The humans refused to listen to you, they still saw us as 'pets' or 'guard dogs' to be pushed back into a kennel when the war was done! I had to do what was necessary for our people to gain respect! I had to do what you were too afraid of! You and I both know that peace only comes after the conflict! Once they saw our strength they treated us as equal and I sheathed my claws!" she sheathed her claws as she stood up.

"But I never went as far as Adam has gone, I know restraint! I know we can't beat the humans in a full-scale war! That paths only leads to our extinction!" Ghira slammed his hand on the desk as he stood up as well.

"Yet you never bothered to teach him that! All you did was fill his head with the idiotic fantasy that our kind is superior to humans! And now because of that arrogance of his, he has put everything we built at risk! I warned you years ago to exile him after that stunt he pulled at the protest in Mistral, but you didn't listen!" Blake flinched at the roar of her father's voice.

She had rarely seen her father anger, and when she did it scared her.

"Everything that happened after that was your own damn fault!" Sienna seethed as she bared her fangs. But she stopped as she sat down and basked in the silence of her studies.

"…I know…I should have done something about him when I had the chance. But he grew too popular amongst our White Fang brethren. He became an idol to them, a symbol to justify their hatred for humanity. But now that illusion is broken, and they have no idea who to follow or what to do. I'm even afraid of what will happen to the White Fang." She lowered her head in shame.

"We need the White Fang, it's our peoples only hope…I need your help to save what he built" Ghira looked at the woman as he saw her vulnerable for the first time in years. He sighed before he nodded his head.

"…All right, I'll help you." She and Blake looked surprised at this, as they looked at the man only for him to glare.

"But let me make one thing absolutely clear. I'm not helping you to rebuild the White Fang to what you created it to be. I'm helping you so that the White Fang can be what it was _meant to be_ for our people. A voice, and a collection of those who abhor the violence that Adam has displayed. To show the humans we were not responsible for the attack on Vale and that we are willing to help them stop those that were." He sat back down as he looked at her from across the oceans

"Adam must be stopped before it is too late…" she nodded.

"I…I understand, thank you. I'll send a shuttle to pick you up. Air travel has been difficult to organise since the invasion and it will take me some time to arrange it. But thank you…I really mean that old friend," he nodded as he made to turn off the monitor.

"Before you go, tell your daughter she is safe to come with you. My men will not attack her…" Blake flinched at this as she tried to hide higher in the rafters. "Yes, I know you up there, child. I did use to care for you as a kitten, remember? You don't think I didn't guess you were up in the rafters." The older woman said as she blushed and jumped down into view.

"H-Hello, Sienna-I mean High Leader," she said as the woman smiled.

"It's alright, it's good to see you again, Blake. And it's okay for you to call me, Sienna. You knew me before I was High Leader, let's not change that." She nodded. "And Ghira, please bring some of your own personal guards with you," she requests as he looked confused.

"Why?" he asked as she looked around the room.

"…Some of my contacts believe Adam may try something when I call him in for trial next week. I would never have known about it if the CCT was still down. And I'm starting to believe I can no longer trust those within the White Fang. Like I said before…there are those that still see him as a saviour. Be careful," she said as he nodded.

The screen went dark as father and daughter were left to digest what they had heard. Sienna had reached out to them first form fears of what Adam would do. It was unexpected and something many would never have seen coming. But because fate had played out differently people reacted differently. And now they saw an opportunity to stop Adam and the White Fang from bringing further shame upon their people.

They could not afford to waste this chance.

* * *

Present Time – Menagerie in Kuo Kuana

* * *

Blake shook herself of the memory as she hopped down from the roof to meet up with Sun. "You ready to go?" he asked as she nodded. "You sure you don't want me to come? I know your dad still doesn't want me to go because he doesn't like me. But are you sure you can do this on your own, you might need help." she shook her head.

"No, the last thing I want is for you to be held captive if this turns out to be a trap by Adam. He was known for torturing people and the White Fang don't take kindly to none members just walking into the main base." He narrowed his eyes.

"And what about former members? How do you know they just won't capture you too?" she shrugged at this.

"My father is bringing the best and most trusted of his personal guard with him. If it does turn out to be a trap, then at least we can fight our way out. But I have to believe in Sienna's promise of not letting them hurt me. Besides, my father is still somewhat respected within the White Fang. They may not touch me because of that," he nodded.

"But I also need you here in case things go south. In case the White Fang is truly compromised I have no idea what Adam will do, and I fear he may attack Kuo just to spite me. I need you here to protect my mother, in case that happens and get her to safety. Can I trust you with that?" his face shifted into a serious expression as he nodded.

"Nothing bad better happen to my wife, boy," Ghira spoke as he and several armed men came walking up behind him. "I expect her to be as safe as when I left, understood?" his stance intimidating as Sun physically shrunk in his presences.

"…Yes sir," he let out meekly as Blake sighed.

"Let's go," she said as he and the others got onboard the shuttle. The occupants – White Fang Guards – saluted Ghira as he and his men boarded the craft while sending a slight glare to Blake. But one look from Ghira shut them up as they boarded the craft.

Blake gave Sun one last look at the boy nodded and placed his weapon on his shoulder. A signal to let her know that the Island and her mother was safe in his hands. The shuttle rocked slightly as they took off, on their way to meet up with Sienna at the White Fang Headquarters. Hidden within the forests of Anima south of Mistral.

This was their only chance to end a war before it began. This was their only chance to avoid extinction because of hatred. this was their only chance…and they could not afford to miss it.

* * *

Deep within the Forever Fall's Forest – Adam's Vale Branch

* * *

Adam glared at the large map of Remnant as he looked at all the destroyed and broken tools he had destroyed in his latest outburst. It was falling apart…everything he had done for the past five years was falling apart. His men were losing faith, his brothers were leaving by the droves and his own kind was spitting in his face. They called him a traitor and a fool for allying himself with the human.

He knew it was a foolish gamble, and there was no doubt that she had other plans for him. He thought he could deal with her when the time was right. But she had given him weapons, money and control over the Grimm. It was Power to take back what the humans had taken from him, the power to assert his dominance over the entire human race and power to achieve his dream of making a better world for Faunus Kind…

Yet now, it was all in ruins. Because of her stupid overinflated ego.

She had bragged about her accomplishments, her deceits and manipulations over the entire CCT Network. She had laughed and called him a mindless bull-headed leader that was easy to manipulate. She had played him like a god damn fiddle and he fell right for it.

For the past Five Months, he scoured the globe for her. Her or her allies. Searching all the places she could possibly be – despite everyone telling him she was dead. But he felt deep down that someone with that powerful of an ally could not have simply died at the hands of a boy. She had to be out there somewhere, and she was going to pay for what she did to him. Her…and the Boy who ruined everything.

He looked at the poster he had torn off a village wall that proclaimed of the Hero of Vale – The Remnant Knight. The human that fought back against The Witch of Ashes Cinder and her White Fang Allies.

He released a low growl in his voice as she stared at the White Knight that stood atop the defeated Dragon. The boy who by all accounts should have died that day at Beacon Five Months ago lived and revealed his dealings with a human. It was because of him that he was now despised by his own kind. It was because of him that the White Fang was tearing at the seams. It was because of him that he had become the villain that humans painted him as.

It was because of him…that the White Fang was going to die.

He roared as he grabbed the table and flipped it and all its contents across the room and smashed it all apart. He threw everything in his tent around as he roared and screamed in anger. His rage becoming more blinding as he destroyed everything in sight of him until there was nothing left but broken wood and torn fabrics. His breathing echoing in the tent as he glared all around him.

"Um…A-Adam?" a voice spoke behind as he spun around in anger.

"What?!" he roared as the chameleon Faunus – Ilia Amitola – recoiled at his rage.

"T-There's a man here for you…he says he worked with Cinder?" he seethed at the name as he grabbed his weapon and marched out of the tent.

At the edge of the Camp stood Hazel as he gazed at a large amount of White Fang members that aimed their weapons at him. He knew that he would be greeted this way, but he still had hopes that the White Fang would be a little more courteous. That was gone as soon as he saw Adam marching toward him, his hand on his weapon as he approached the man.

"You have a lot of nerve showing up here and making your claim!" he growled as he walked towards him ready to cut the man down.

"Let's not be hasty," the man said as he gestured to the woods. Several sets of eyes shone in the forest as the camp was soon surrounded by Grimm. The White Fang members backed up as Adam glared at the man. "I am merely here to talk. I would rather not spill any unnecessary blood," he spoke as Adam growled but gestured his men to step back.

"What do you want?" he asked as Hazel nodded, glad that he didn't have to spill any unnecessary blood.

"I represent my mistress, who has sent me here to reconcile for the idiocrasy of one of our agents."

"Cinder" Adam growled. He nodded.

"Correct, what Cinder had said was not the thoughts or intentions of the rest of our group. We never intend to betray you, and we are still hoping that an alliance can be forged with you and the White Fang. We can provide you with resources and weapons to help your men in your efforts against humanity." He raised an eyebrow at this.

"Why would you want to assist us? You lot already betrayed me before, why should I trust you now?" Hazel nodded at this.

"Because we know that you're planning to take out the High Leader of the White Fang," several eyes widened at this as Ilia slinked back at this. "After which you will no doubt launch a full-scale assault on Mistral's Academy. In what I can only guess as a message to all your kind to stand up to the Kingdoms?" Adam glared.

"Looking at what you have now I can assure you that your plan will fail without our help. Let us put aside the past grievance of Cinder in order to accomplish both our goals. You want to take down the Academy, my group needs only one thing that is hidden in its Vault. Let us work together," he offered as Adam glared.

"…Get out of my sight. I will have no help from your 'Group'. It has already cost me too much and I will not make the same mistake again. I will attack Mistral, but it will not be for your group. It will be for my kind and with my will and mine alone…get out" He ordered as Hazel stared but nodded as he gestures the Grimm to retreat.

"Very well, I will take my leave. I'm sorry we couldn't come to an arrangement. Best of luck in your attempts," he spoke as he walked back into the woods, disappearing into the darkness.

Adam was left with many questioning eyes as Ilia walked up to him. "A-Adam, you're not really thinking about taking out Sienna…are you?" she asked as he said nothing but stared at the darkness.

"…Sienna is weak. She does not have the will our people needed to push back mankind. We must do what is necessary for our kind to be the dominant species on the planet. It is our right, no one else's" Ilia recoiled at this.

"But this isn't what-!" a hand was wrapped around her throat as he glared at her.

"Are you questioning my authority? Are you going to betray me like the others?" his voice low and hate filled as she stared into the slits of his mask. Anger and rage burning inside as she instantly felt fear. Her skin changing into yellow as she feared the man before her. Seeing first hand his killing of his own kind.

"N-No, of course not Adam," he nodded as he dropped her to the ground as she gasped for air.

"Anyone else who questions my orders will meet the same fate as the others. I will not be denied what is rightful ours!" he yelled as the others in the camp nodded in fear of the man. While the more devoted members nodded in respect of him.

'The humans have ruled us for too long and it is time we stood up to them. Ghira failed to negotiate, Sienna hesitates to attack. Only I know what must be done for our kind!" He spoke as he moved to a large rock and stood upon it. "It is time we took back what has been denied of us! It's time the humans know what it means to fear the White Fang!" a loud roar from the loyal resonated as they looked upon him.

"And if our brothers will not stand by our side, then they too will join the weak that dare stand against us! We are the White Fang!" he yelled as he raised his fist. "We will be the dominant race! We will take this planet for ourselves and show the humans the same treatment they gave us!" they roared in approval as he raised his sword high,

"We are Faunus! We are the hope for our kind!" a loud roar of support echoed as Ilia stood back in silence. A feeling of regret building in her chest as she watched the fires of the camp turn their shadows into monstrous nightmares.

"WE ARE THE WHITE FANG!" many voices echoed as the coming days would become darker before the light would ever shine through.

Meanwhile, Hazel watched from a distance as he observed the scene from a distance. A sigh escaped his throat as he turned to see a jellyfish-like Grimm hovering behind him as Salem appeared in its red orb. He bowed as he spoke to it.

"My Queen, I apologise for my failure. Adam and his men will no longer be joining us and plan to attack Haven themselves." From across the globe, Salem nodded as she waved her hand.

"Unfortunate, but it matters little. His arrogance and rage will unintentionally further our goals and we will exploit it to our gains. Besides, I have a new mission for you." This time an image of Tyrian appeared as he bowed with a love-struck grin to his queen.

"Arthur has learned from his contacts in Atlas that the boy – Jaune Arc – has stolen a highly advanced stealth ship and is heading to Haven as we speak. Arthur will deal with Lionheart, but I need you to rendezvous with Tyrian and intercept that vessel before it can arrive." She ordered as both men nodded.

"But how will we be able to track it, my Queen?" Tyrian asked as their scrolls suddenly pinged.

"Arthur's contacts have informed him that General Cobalt is able to track the ship through programs hidden in the ship. He managed to acquire the software and uploaded it to your scrolls. You two will use these to track them down and bring the boy to me. If you can retrieve the ship as well. It could prove useful for our purposes." They nodded as Tyrian looked at her.

"And the crew?" he asked as Salem waved her hand.

"…Unimportant, dispose of them," she said as Tyrian grinned and bowed.

"It will be done, my Goddess…" he looked back to Hazel as he grinned.

"See you soon, partner," he said mockingly as he laughed and the Seer Grimm cut off communications. Leaving Hazel alone amongst the forest. He sighed as he turned back around and started to follow the indicating dot on the map. Willing to do whatever it took to get his revenge on Ozpin for what he had done to him.

No matter the cost to his soul.

Meanwhile, Salem turned back to her lab as Cinder lay on a table with several vials of black liquid slowly being injected into her body. The woman was struggling with pain as the liquid forced its way into her as she screamed in pain only to be muffled by the gag in her mouth.

"You may have failed me, Cinder. But even in failure, you are still of use to me." She walked over as she placed her hand on the table as the woman looked at her with pleading eyes. "And this will only make you stronger…" she turned a handle as the liquid poured into her quicker. Blood red runes glowing as the woman hollowed in pain.

"And soon you will have your revenge…I promise you," she whispered as she turned and left the woman to her pain. All the while thinking of the boy that managed to derail her plans and change the very nature of the world itself. That kind of power could change the world almost as much as the relics could.

She needed him on her side…or at the least, his blood.

* * *

 **And Scene. Well here is Chapter XIII of The Remnant Knight. Sorry for the long wait, I have been very busy with work and Uni work that I just needed to take a break from writing. But I'm balancing my life a bit better and good to write. I will continue Trials as it seems to be successful and so will my other stories.**

 **I wanted to try something different and have Sienna interact with Ghira. I can feel that they may have had a past together. One that forced them to not speak to each other. I may even hint at a rivalry between Kali and Sienna in later chapters. Maybe they both like Ghira and Sienna is jealous he chose Kali over her. Could make for some interesting interactions~**

 **Oh boy.**

 **Plus, I'm trying to branch out more from the cannon. And seeing as Beacon didn't fall, I thought some changes needed to happen. Like Adam going angrier at the world and denying any aid from Salem's faction. Also, I wanted to make Blake a tad more active and bring her in earlier to find out about Salem. I kind of felt that she was just dropped in at the last minute in Volume 5 and she had no idea what the heck was going on.**

 **She doesn't even know about the Relics. Kind of an important thing to know about.**

 **Plus, if I plan it out right I might be able to save Sienna and do something different with the White Fang. Fingers crossed. Also, want to add Ilia to the team, she could be useful to the group.**

 **Well, please leave a review and stay tuned for the next Chapter,…**

 **Chapter XIV: Ambush**


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